


The Job

by Brazendale



Category: Stephen Moyer - Fandom
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-15
Updated: 2016-01-02
Packaged: 2017-12-20 06:46:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 84
Words: 154,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/884190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brazendale/pseuds/Brazendale
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A lift breaking down and chance encounter lead to some unexpected results for the two main characters in this little story. </p><p>This is dedicated to all those who get up, go to work in the daily grind and dream of finding the ultimate job or be duly  recognised for their dedication, their willingness to make a routine job a lot more pleasant for those around them and those they come into contact with.</p><p>For all of those who are the backbone of so many companies and organisations that selflessly get on with things while others reap the rewards.... you are the unsung heroes of the workplace... never stop dreaming.</p><p>Another Moya inspired story.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

His skin was lightly tanned. Two sapphire blue eyes blazed out, shining in their appreciation at what he saw. When the lift ground to a sudden halt mid floors, he rolled his eyes and gave her an unconcerned shrug. ‘Power cut,’ he murmured, a small smile creasing the corners of his sensual lips. She looked at her watch, her face a mask of frustration. ‘Great!’ she sighed, irritation and worry plainly written all over her face. ‘Shouldn’t be long,’ he said as a way of placating her, ‘the backup generators will kick in and we’ll be out of here in no time.’ 

As if to deliberately prove him wrong, right at that moment the lights in the lift dipped and dimmed to a mere shadow of their normal self. He shrugged again. ‘Then again I could be wrong,’ he muttered. By this time she didn’t appear to even be listen as she fumbled in her handbag before taking out her mobile phone and punching in some numbers, a moment or two later reaching her connection.

‘Jen its Skye look I am… hello, hello? Oh shoot!’ she exclaimed as she stuffed her phone back into her bag and slumped against the chrome hand rail. Stepping over to the panelling beside her, he pressed the emergency button but the only response was a crackling of static.  
Her eyes suddenly ran over him as though seeing him for the first time as he stepped back to lean against the railing opposite her. He was dressed in a midnight blue dark navy suit that was tailored to perfectly fit him. His crisp gleaming white shirt showed off the deep purple, navy and charcoal grey silk tie that was perfectly knotted at his throat. 

He wore his hair a little longer than what was the current fashion, the auburn almost sun kissed highlights complimented his face and suited him nestling around his finely sculptured face with its high cheekbones and squared jaw. He had just the slightest hint of faded freckles scattered ever so lightly across his cheeks, his light tan almost but not entirely hiding them, giving him an almost boyish look that was so cute really in a face that was so otherwise perfectly masculine. If she hadn’t been so dammed tired she would have been quite happy to be stuck in a lift with someone as attractive as he was, what woman wouldn’t she was thinking to herself. 

He was around five ten or there about she guessed and from what she could see he had a really decent body, well-manicured almost sensual hands and he wasn’t wearing a wedding ring. Well that was something she mused. It could have been a lot worse, she could have been stuck in the lift with the office lair, that odious Henry that couldn’t keep his hands to himself every year at the office Christmas party for starters but still, it was late and she was tired and her feet were killing her from the heels she was wearing plus it was beginning to get warm and stuffy and her “smart office attire” was beginning to stifle her. In short, she just wanted to get home and get changed in to something comfortable.

She watched him as he slid his hand into his pocket, her eyes automatically running down his body to where he felt for his phone. Oh lord she was thinking, he really is quite well proportioned she couldn’t help but notice as she hastily averted her eyes, feeling even more hot and bothered at the thought. He really was quite something.  
‘Here,’ he said as he offered her his phone. ‘It is a local call you are trying to make isn’t it? I mean I am not going to get stuck with a bill for a call to Australia or Argentina or the South Pole or anything am I,’ he laughed in his weak attempt to break the tension that he felt rolling off her. She smiled a little as she took his phone and her whole face changed. 

It was his turn now to do a little appraising of his own as he glanced at her and couldn’t help but be impressed by the smartly cut black suit she was wearing, a pencil skirt resting just above her knees complimenting her shapely legs covered in skin coloured stockings, and the pink silk shirt she was wearing strategically unbuttoned, just enough to give a hint of full breasts without being unduly immodest. 

Her straight blonde hair was swept up in a kind of French twist and her make-up was perfectly applied for the office, not too heavy but complimentary to her features. She had blue almost green eyes and great bone structure and a smile that would light up a room. Apart from looking great, as he had leant over to hand her his phone he had been close enough to get a slight waft of her perfume. She smelt drop dead wonderful. He didn’t know what she was wearing but if there was anything close to heaven in a bottle then this was it. 

Pressing the on off button on the phone, she frowned again then handed it back to him eyebrows raised. ‘Sorry,’ he said as he looked at the blank screen, ‘no signal. Looks like we are stuck here then, I am sure it won’t be long. Building security will be aware of it; they would be doing their checks by now, making sure that all the floors are empty to allow for the cleaners to come through overnight. All these large office buildings are the same.’

She looked a little sceptical. ‘Well all I know if management hadn’t spent squillions doing up their own offices and used some of the company money on the upkeep of the infrastructure then maybe we wouldn’t be here now. It is just such a waste,’ she said vehemently. ‘Money by the bucket load is poured into all the wrong areas. We have computer systems that are all on the same platform that crash as quick as you look at them, but did they consult with us before spending loads on them, oh no, that would be making too much sense wouldn’t it you know. Talking to the ones that actually do the work and know what they are doing, communication and consultation – they sprout being transparent in their dealings within the workplace but just go ahead without any thought as to the strain that is puts staff under.’ She sighed. ‘I shouldn’t even be here working this late and if their crappy system hadn’t kept crashing I would have been home hours ago.’

She was shifting her weight from one foot to the other, clearly in discomfort from her high shoes he noticed and whipping off his jacket he spread it on the floor, patting it to encourage her to sit down. She looked at him gratefully, embarrassed now by her tirade as she sank down onto the floor, kicking off her shoes and heaving a sigh.  
‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound off but sometimes I just get so frustrated with how things are done. It just doesn’t make sense to me. I want to do the best that I can by the company and for the clients and I have so many ideas for changing the way that we do things that I know would just benefit everyone but …’ she shrugged as her voice trailed off. ‘Look I don’t know if it is feasible but have you put any of your ideas forward to your superiors, have you had anyone listen to you?’ 

She scoffed a little at his suggestion before replying, ‘Oh yes, I did take one my brilliant ideas to my “supervisor” and trust me I am using the term loosely, she couldn’t supervisor a raffle at the pub but she is dam clever using others work to ingratiate herself with upper management. And that is exactly what happened.’ ‘Heh hang on, that is fraudulent,’ he exclaimed, ‘not to mention down right unfair on you.’ ‘You don’t say, tell me about it,’ she replied, her words simply dripping with irony. ‘I am really sorry. You know it sounds to me like you really do care about your job,’ he was saying sympathetically. ‘Yes, as stupid as it sounds with all my moaning and bitching, I really do. It’s not just a job.’

He could understand that perfectly. It wasn’t just a job to him either.


	2. Chapter 2

Nearly an hour had passed and the two of them had struck up an animated conversation about office politics, morality within the workplace and their ideas and dreams.

‘You know I had visions when I started here a couple of years ago of making a difference, not just coming in, doing it, collecting a pay packet and going home but of really taking on the challenges, making things better and making my own mark on something that I totally believed in,’ she went on passionately. ‘It’s always been a good company and has had a great reputation but lately it is not just the clients that we are losing, we are losing staff too. The disengagement now is very real and evident.’

‘When everything and everyone just feels like a number and is hounded into meeting their quotas without a care or thought to quality well then you lose the heart and soul of a working environment. I am totally for setting goals and accomplishments, that is inspiring but that’s not what we have here anymore. It is the “do as I say not as I do attitude” that is killing this place, we need leadership that is willing to make changes and get rid of those that are taking advantage of the lack of leadership, weed them out. That would make a great start.’

The air in the lift had become cloyingly hot and stuffy as they had talked and she had taken off her jacket and rolled up her sleeves and unbuttoned her blouse in an attempt to cool down a little. He too had sunk down onto the floor and was sharing his jacket sitting closely next to her. His tie was gone and his shirt undone. 

He had been listening attentively to everything that she was saying, nodding in agreement throughout. He had seen it before and recognised it was the same thing that he had faced recently. ‘You really believe that it can be turned around then?’ he asked, engrossed by her thoughts. ‘Of course it can but action needs to be taken soon or it will be too late.’ He watched the expression on her face as she went on to outline various processes and procedures that if implemented, would definitely benefit the company. He was enthralled by her passion and couldn’t help but think what a talent she had. 

‘You know you really should do something about what you have told me. I think any CEO in their right mind would be a fool not to listen.’ She laughed. ‘Oh yeh right, like I am just going to barge into the heads office and fling all this at him. I would be so out of a job in no time flat. It doesn’t work like that but boy, I sure wish that it did.’  
She glanced down at her watch. It was after eight by now and she was tired, not to mention hungry. She leant back putting her hands behind her and arched her back, the fabric stretching tightly across her breasts strained and pulled a button open. She didn’t notice it but he sure did. He couldn’t help it as her shirt fell open to reveal the slope of her breasts overflowing the sheer lace of her bra. He closed his eyes and turned away a little for fear that she would notice his gaze. 

‘I spy with my little eye,’ he said in attempt to take his mind off what he was thinking about and to divert her from their situation, ‘something beginning with B.’ She laughed and looked around the small confines, there wasn’t much scope for error with not much to look at in here. She glanced around and suddenly looking down and realised that her shirt had become undone and hastily did the button up, growing red in the face as she did so. ‘Is it button by any chance?’ she blurted out somewhat self-consciously, deliberately looking at the panelling by the door with the floor buttons but suspecting what had really made him think of it. 

He nodded, laughing a little embarrassed. They were both suddenly doing a lot of thinking that had nothing to do with work but neither were going to go any further with it. ‘Your turn now,’ he encouraged her to distract them both. She was looking around trying to think of something original to say when there was a whirring sound and the lights came up, the lift started to move and they both looked at each other. He got up first and offered her his hand as she slipped her shoes back on and picked up his jacket. When the doors finally opened on the ground floor they were greeted by two burly looking security guards as they attempted to dust themselves off and straighten their clothes. 

‘Are you two okay? We have been trying to get you out of there but the lift company has been run off its feet with calls for help. Seems there was a power surge in the area that took out quite a few buildings and damaged backup generators,’ the more senior of the pair offered by way of an excuse. ‘Took out some of the telephone towers too, it makes you wonder what would happen if there was a real catastrophe doesn’t it? Can we call you a taxi or anything?’ 

They both turned down the offer and made their way out the door. ‘Well it was nice meeting you, perhaps next time we meet it will be under better circumstances,’ he smiled, flashing an dazzling grin at her. It was infectious and she smiled back. ‘Thanks for putting up with me raving on, sorry that I must have bored you to tears. I have a habit of doing that or so everyone says.’ ‘You didn’t bore me, honestly Skye, you made sense.’ ‘How did you know…’ she got no further as her phone rang and she had to fish it out of her bag and answer it. As she spoke she remembered that he would have heard her mention her name when she was attempting to use the phone earlier. 

‘Hi Jen, yes I know you would be worried and Mum would too. Tell her everything is alright. No I tried to ring you but couldn’t get a signal… I have been stuck in the bloody lift since…. Oh ok, where is he then…. Alright tell him I will be right there…. Okay, not a problem.’ Stuffing her phone back into her bag yet again, she turned hurriedly back to him. The wind was blowing and it was cold after the heat in the lift. She shivered a little as she looked into his eyes and realised that more than likely she wouldn’t see him again and she really wanted to, he was really very nice.

‘Well thanks for everything, I have to fly, my brother is waiting for me. Hope to see you again and thanks again for well, for putting up with my rambling.’ She had to go but now that they were outside away from the intimacy of the small lift, all the confidence that she had shown when talking to him drained out of her. She felt shy now and a little overwhelmed by his presence. Silly really but looking at him now under the portico lights of the building, he somehow seemed more polished and sophisticated. Christ, she thought, he looks sensational. 

‘It was really nice talking to you, I really mean it,’ he said sincerely. ‘Skye you are an asset to your company and I am sure that one day you will be recognised for what you are worth.’ She blushed with pleasure at his words. ‘I had better not keep you then. Have a good night and Skye…’ she had begun to reluctantly walk away but turned, ‘don’t work too hard. Take some time to smell the roses.’ He watched her as she walked quickly to the corner and looked back as she turned it, gave a small wave and a dazzling smile and was gone. 

Yes, he thought, he really hoped that he would be seeing her again sometime soon.


	3. Chapter 3

He breathed a sigh of relief as he opened the front door and was finally home. What a day. The side table lamp in the living room gave out a soft light as he glanced down the hallway still piled high with unpacked boxes. Shit she hasn’t even bothered to start unpacking any of her things, what on earth had she been doing with all her free time he was thinking, tired and annoyed at the mess? He hated mess, he wasn’t a clean freak but it was a bit much that he had been the one to organise everything, do all the packing and get everything shipped and she had virtually not had to raise a finger and yet she had done nothing over the last week to get things unpacked and sorted. He was tired; he was really tired and just wanted some peace and quiet and time to himself, to reflect. 

He sighed now as he saw the light on and realised he wasn’t alone. Hell, that was all he needed, Ros must be home. ‘Hi,’ he called out as he made his way down the passage. He heard a scuffling and a movement before he reached the doorway and stepped in. Ros was sitting on the sofa looking a little ruffled while Linda, Ros’s friend, was standing near the fireplace, glass in hand and looking cool. His shoulders slumped a little at the sight of her, she was what he called a smart arse and he didn’t like her, and she always seemed to be popping up no matter where they were. She was in LA when they were there and now here she was back here again in London. 

‘We’re just on our way out for coffee,’ Ros said, ‘don’t wait up, I am not sure how long I’ll will be.’ He nodded and breathed a sigh of relief, making his way over to the kitchen. He smiled a little as he heard the front door slam, he loved being here on his own and lately he had enjoyed his own space more and more. He loved this apartment too with its open plan spaces and its freedom to move. It was well designed and he had spent weeks online looking for something close to town but suitable and to his liking. He had not been in the mood to compromise, he was over that, he’d done too much of it in his life already. 

The apartment, as he liked to think of it was built on three levels, all linking up via a modern wooden and chrome stairway with its glass balustrade that transported you through each level in such a cunning way that all the floors seemed to flow as one. There was even a huge mezzanine that overlooked the living and kitchen areas, an area that he loved as he had set aside space next to it for a desk and a computer and comfortable chair so that he could look downstairs or across to the other side of the landing area where a huge picture window encompassing the three floors gave out upon the most amazing views of the river and the distant city sky line. He simply loved it. It was where he had his sound system, flat screen TV and a large leather couch come day bed set up. It was his chill out space and he totally owned it. Ros never went near it. She spent her time downstairs mostly doing whatever but mainly nothing at all he thought annoyed.

The living room was all a dark cream coloured concoction bordering on caramel, cream coloured deep and comfortable couches with black silk cushions invited you to sit and relax. He had kept the lighting subdued and subtle, it suited the odd piece of original art work placed strategically here and there. Everything was modern, clean and sumptuous. He had been meticulous with his furnishings and decorations; it was all a reflection of him and nothing what so ever to do with Ros. She had no flare and would be perfectly happy living in an empty box. That was just her, not a criticism he thought but merely an observation. 

He loved the kitchen too. He loved to cook and wanted it to be a functional and practical place but he wanted it to be stylish too and that is what he got. Everything, including the splash back tiles, was black, with the exception of the bench tops that were made of a pressed glossy pine and the door fittings with their polished brushed chrome handles that matched the huge double stainless steel fridge freezer with its built in pc on the door. He really adored the way that it had turned out and took great pleasure in it. 

He walked over to the gleaming fridge and rummaged through it. It was looking pretty bare at the moment as they had only moved in over the last week or so but he found enough to hustle up something quick and simple and as it was obvious to him that she wasn’t going to even bother doing any shopping, it would be up to him to stock up the fridge and the pantry and seeing he did most of the cooking anyway, it was probably just as well. He had to face facts, she could caramelise a pan of boiling water she was just such a lousy cook.

Pouring himself a glass of wine and carrying his plate with him up to the mezzanine, he chose some music to match his mood, grabbed his laptop and set himself up, alternatively eating and writing his journal for the next couple of hours. He finished up his wine and stretched himself out. He was cramped from sitting hunched over his laptop and from sitting on the floor of the lift for so long. His thoughts flew back to the preceding hours and he thought of Skye. His mind wandered to that brief glimpse of her breasts and his body responded. He swallowed and felt himself stiffening. Oh lord, steady old boy he told himself. 

Shaking himself he got up, did the dishes and headed for the shower. He preferred a shower at night, he reasoned that he didn’t see the point in going to bed grubby, he loved the feeling of getting into bed clean and relaxed after a long day at work. It relaxed him, took the tension away. He took an extra long shower tonight, standing with the hot water cascading over his tired muscles, the stress of the last few weeks flowing out of him so that he fell into a deep sleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow. He didn’t even hear Ros when she came in and climbed into bed he was so dead to the world. 

The lift doors opened and she glided in to stand opposite him. She was wearing the same black suit that she had been wearing when they had been stuck in the lift earlier that evening but her skirt was shorter, so short in fact that he could see the beginnings of the lace band that ran around the top of her flesh coloured stockings. The thought of the bare flesh between the tops and what he imagined to be the little lace panties she might be wearing, he couldn’t deny, it excited him immensely. 

She stood with one hand delicately poised holding the metal hand railing for balance as she slowly began to undo the buttons of her silk blouse, all the while smiling at his reactions. She knew, he thought, she knew exactly what she was doing to him. It was as though she could feel him hardening just watching her. Her lips parted slightly, as he pictured her imagining what he would do to her and when she had finally undone the last button and slowly parted her jacket and shirt to reveal the white satin and lace bustier she was wearing, his already swollen manhood gave a palpable throb at the sight. 

In one swift move he was pinning her against the lift wall, his hands running up the bones of the bustier to gently cup her full breasts before slipping his long fingers under the fabric in search of her hardened nipples. He closed his eyes and felt another surge shoot through him when he gently flicked her with his fingertips. She leant forward suggestively, enticing him to go further. His hands slid up and quickly pushed her shirt and jacket off her shoulders and down her arms, falling down her body and onto the floor. He reached around her back and felt for the zip to her skirt, sliding it down to release her from it. 

She was standing there now just as he imagined she would in her bustier, lacy knickers, stockings and high stiletto heels. He deftly reached for the clip that held her hair in place and freed it to fall onto her shoulders and cascading down her back. He was pressing against her body, his hardness awkwardly positioned until he undid his pants and let them fall around his ankles, his upright manhood springing free in the loose boxers he was wearing. 

He parted her legs with his and slid his hand into his boxers, stroking himself before finding the opening and guiding himself through the fabric to position himself. They stood there pressed against each other until he moved himself between her slippery wet folds. She began to teasingly rub against him, moving herself over him, tempting him mercilessly to enter her. She reached both her hands onto the railing and lifted herself to perch on it and folded her legs around his hips. 

‘I am wet for you,’ she whispered seductively in his ear.


	4. Chapter 4

He woke with a start. He had never had a dream that was so erotic before. He had previously had some pretty hot dreams, who hadn’t he thought, but he was reeling with the desire that this one had left him in. His erection was swollen and painful and as much as he tried, he couldn’t ignore it. He was literally aching, hurting in his physical need for release. He had to get some relief, god he needed to have sex and quickly. In the half awake, half asleep state he was in he turned over and feeling Ros lying next to him, he quickly rolled her onto her back, fumbling in his haste as he jerked up the thick flannelette nightie she was wearing that he hated with a passion. 

Normally he would be totally turned off by it but he was desperate and his need was spurring him on. He simply couldn’t stop now, slipping on top of her before she was even fully aware of what he was doing. She groaned a little but certainly didn’t protest and besides, it was all over in a matter of a few strokes, his frantic state had been so great that he had come in a shuddering explosion of craving that surprised her, the whole episode surprised her really and left him panting for breath. 

Guilt wracked through him as he hastily climbed off her and he turned away from her onto his side but despite feeling so despicable, so totally mortified, he did try to justify himself with the excuse that he couldn’t remember the last time they had done it let alone done it with any meaning or feeling or any emotional attachment what so ever. It had been several years he sighed frustrated. Regardless of how bad he was feeling about his actions, he fell quickly back to sleep and it was not until the alarm blasted him out of his now dreamless state that he woke and felt altogether like a heel. 

‘We need to talk,’ Ros stated flatly as she pushed a cup of steaming coffee in his direction. He had barely walked into the kitchen and was still trying to wake up. ‘Look, if it is about last night I am really sorry,’ he began to say, feeling totally ashamed now in the cold light of dawn. His face flushed at the remembrance of the night before and his actions. His recollections shifted to the dream he had the night before and just thinking about it he could feel himself stirring and beginning to harden but the look on Ros’s face put an end to that. ‘It’s not about last night. I think that you know what I am going to say, what we both should have said a long time ago.’ 

They had drifted into the relationship because it was expected of them. His whole life really he had done what was expected of him. He had attended the schools his parents had chosen for him. He had achieved the marks that were right and proper for one from his social background. Joined all the clubs and participated in all the activities that one did when it was considered to be the done thing. His career had followed an upwardly mobile course to success just as his overbearing Father had wanted and yes, even Ros was planned for, her being the youngest daughter of a family acquaintance. It was all mapped out for him and he had become bored, bored to tears with it, so bored that he could have screamed. 

The only saving grace had been the opportunity he had snatched when an opening had come up in the states and he had taken it and moved there for a year, Ros and all. It was a chance to set something up in their Californian subsidiary and he had embraced it whole heartedly. He had made it his own and he had loved it there, loved the life style, the surf and sun and freedom away from the stuffy confines that he had been so accustomed to. Really, his life and family were like an episode of Downton Abbey without the corsets. Did people really live like that in the real world… well in his family and their circle they did, and he couldn’t handle it. He loved his work, that he was totally sure of, but as to the rest, it was just not for him. 

‘I am going to live with Linda. We’ve been having an affair for the last year Roland. We love each other.’ Her words drifted through his mind and bought him back to reality. She had been waffling on for the last ten minutes and he hadn’t really heard a word she had been saying. Come to think of it, he hadn’t really heard a word she had been saying for months now as she didn’t really have anything positive to say to him about much these days. It wasn’t so much that he didn’t love her, he did care for her however he cared for everyone as he was just that type of person, he had a loving heart but she was so cold to him and had been really for years now. It was just her way but he wanted and needed more. 

He wanted… what did he really want, he asked himself? He wanted what he thought everyone wanted, he wanted to be loved and he wanted passion and excitement and sensuality and success and children and a life he was totally happy with and that fulfilled him. His thoughts flew to the lift last night and to his dream. That was what he wanted, animation and anticipation, the thrill of it and recognition of who and what he was and what he could be, and more importantly to him right at that moment in his life, he wanted what he could give someone. 

‘I’ll move out at the weekend if that is ok with you?’ He simply nodded. It was no surprise to him, they had both really known it was coming and if truth be told, it was rather a relief. ‘You know that I will always be here if you need me don’t you?’ he told her. He meant it and she knew that he was being sincere. He was probably the nicest person that she had ever met really. She smiled and got up and walked over to him, wrapping her arms around his neck as he continued to sit staring into his coffee cup. ‘You know you really are the nicest person I have ever met Roland, I don’t think that I have ever told you that. You know that it’s not you, it’s me. You are the only man that I have ever been with that has given me an orgasm,’ she declared with totally honesty, much to his astonishment. It was too late in the day to hold back now. 

‘One day I hope that you meet someone that you deserve, someone that you can love and can love you back the way that it should be. I am so sorry that it just isn’t in me. I can’t give you what you really should have. I have never truly given you what you are worthy of. I actually am sorry for that. This should never have gone on as long as it has. You could have found someone else countless times but you stayed, you are so loyal and I don’t deserve it. I am sorry Roland, sincerely I am. You are just too caring for your own good and I know that the malaise that this relationship has been in right from the start has been my entire fault. I should have been honest and not let it get this far, I am a fraud and I am sure you are going to do so much better without me. I knew at school that I was... well,’ she shrugged to herself, 'I guess that we can't help what the heart wants. I hope that you find what you want too someday.' 

She kissed him lightly on the back of his head as she stood behind him and then turned and walked away calling over her shoulder as she reached the doorway into the hall, ‘I won’t be coming home at night, most of my things are still packed so I will pick them up during the day when you won’t be here. Hope that’s ok with you?’ 

And that was that.


	5. Chapter 5

‘Where the hell have you been, Mum has been going spare with worry. Why the fuck couldn’t you ring?’ Skye was just climbing into the front seat of the waiting car when she copped a tirade from her brother. ‘Hi good to see you too. I have been stuck in the lift at work for nearly two hours, I tried to ring Jen but the phone cut out and then there was no signal, I am tired and starving and just want to get home. Thanks for coming to get me but I could do without the lecture thank you.’ She was more than a little over it and just wanted to get home, get into a hot shower, have something to eat and go to bed. 

‘Sorry sis, I didn’t mean to go off like that but we were all really worried. Rod was going off his nut.’ Rod! Oh hell, she had forgotten about him. She sighed a little frustrated just at the thought of him. ‘Yes Rod. You know, the guy that you are supposed to be getting married to.’ ‘I am not, what are you talking about, getting married to. He is your mate Paul, not mine. Well I mean…’ Paul glanced quickly in her direction before turning back to the road. ‘Skye, you do love him don’t you? I mean if you don’t you would be better to break it off than lead him on.’ ‘For god sakes Paul, there is nothing to break off. We go out occasionally, that’s it. There is nothing in it and I have told him. If he doesn’t listen then that is his problem. I have always told him that I look on him as a friend and nothing more,’ she said exasperated. ‘Well that isn’t how he sees it.’ ‘Well I can’t help that, that’s his issue not mine. If that is the case then I won’t be going out with him again.’

‘What the hell has gotten into you tonight? I thought that you liked him. I thought that lately you two had been getting on really well. I had half thought that we would be expecting some kind of announcement soon. I know Mum and Dad think the same thing too. Mum said so just this morning.’ ‘Oh fuck! You have to be kidding. I wish to hell you would all stay out of my business. I am not marrying Rod, I am not marrying anyone… I don’t want to get married, now or ever,’ she yelled. ‘Okay, keep your knickers on. I don’t know what the hell has gotten into you. Just chill out will you.’

She was breathing hard and was really angry. It had been such a long day and she felt out of her skin. She was more than tired now but every time she closed her eyes all she could see was a pair of brilliant blue eyes staring into hers and a smattering of freckles with a drop dead gorgeous smile in front of her face, and it got to her. Thinking back over the last few hours she realised that she had gone on and on so much that she had hardly let him get a word in, she was regretting everything that she had rambled on and on about and god, she didn’t even know his name. She sighed loudly exasperated with herself. Well it doesn’t really matter, come to think of it, she would probably never see him again anyway so why was she getting so upset about it. God there just had to be something better than this to life surely she thought, furious with herself and her lot.

She had meant it when she had told him that she loved working for the company but she was so jaded with the fact that no matter how hard she tried it never seemed to be enough. It wasn’t so much that she was overlooked as it was the fact that she was so willing and obliging that she was forever getting taken advantage of her good nature. When others used her ideas and took the credit for them she never spoke up, that wasn’t her way. She believed in karma and that one day those who clawed their way to the top over all others, well they would have to face them on the same ones that they had treated in that manner back on their way down. 

But at the same time the injustice of it all did burn deep at times inside her, she was only human and it was human nature to resent those that achieved positions simply by using others and brown nosing. Problem was that everyone that she knew was in the same boat. When she thought about it, no one that she knew was really happy in the job that they were doing, everyone seemed to be in the same situation and just as frustrated as she was, and that hurt. It wasn’t meant to be like this, life is too precious to waste away.

Then there was Rod. Paul was right, if she didn’t love him and he had other ideas well then she was going to have to confront him and make it clear once and for all that she really did only see him as a friend. He was a nice enough guy but she wanted more than just a nice guy. She wanted fulfilment. She was a true romantic at heart and still believed that it was possible to find the one person in the world that pushed all her buttons, that …. what was it that she had just thought, pushed all her buttons. Buttons made her think of the lift and tonight. Now there was someone that she had found that was interesting and interested in her, had listened to her and she thought, seemed to know where she was coming from. Rod was a car mechanic, great at his job but no ambition, no dreams, just content plodding along which was fine by her but he just didn’t relate to her aspirations and said so at different times. It was like they spoke a different language but tonight, in the lift, she felt that she had met someone that was on the same page so to speak, someone that she could really communicate with, that had never happened before and she really liked it, she felt empowered by it despite her embarrassment at her forthcomings. 

‘If you mean what you say then you had better do it sooner rather than later.’ She turned to Paul, ‘Sorry what did you say?’ He had parked the car outside the house and was just about to get out. ‘You have got to tell Rod, haven’t you been listening to a word that I have been saying for the last ten minutes. Don’t lead him on Skye, do it soon.’ She nodded as she got out of the car and went inside. ‘Where on earth have you been, are you okay? Jen said something about being stuck in a lift at work? Why don’t you go and have a shower and get changed, I have kept some dinner for you, when you get out I can warm it up.’ Skye’s Mum patted her on the shoulder as she made her way passed her and up the stairs. ‘You look all done in love, have a long hot shower and I will wait up for you.’ 

When Skye came down in what she termed as her comfort pyjamas, a pair of thick and fluffy warm top and bottoms with rabbits bouncing all over the bottoms in a random pattern, her feet finally out of her killer heels and encased in her thick furry slippers, she collapsed onto the couch sighing as her Mum bought a tray with a plate full of a spicy beef curry and lashings of mashed potatoes. Skye ate hungrily while her Mum plied her with questions about how terrible and scary it must have been to be stuck in the lift and didn’t she panic and wasn’t she scared. Between mouthfuls she responded to the multitude of questions and explained she hadn’t been on her own and that everything was alright and she had felt perfectly safe. 

If she had been on her own then it may just have been a different story but what she didn’t tell her Mother was that the main reason she felt perfectly safe was because of the pair of brilliant blue eyes gazing at her and the wonderfully sexy smile along with the sympathetic manner that had given her assurance that all would be alright.

No, that was not something that she cared to share with her Mum or with anyone, well at least not tonight.


	6. Chapter 6

What with the events of the long day, eating late at night and the combination of arguing with Paul, having Rod on her mind and the lift incident as well, it was no wonder that even though Skype was dropping with tiredness, by the time that she got to bed it took her a while to get to sleep. Every time she closed her eyes all she could see were those blue eyes looking into hers and that hint of smile at the corners of his lips, and the way his clothes seemed to fit him in all the right places. She had been going out with Rod for what seemed like an eternity but despite that they had never been to bed together. He just wasn’t her type but it was not because she wasn’t interested in sex, boy was she, but she just didn’t think of him like that.

Now as she lay half drifting into sleep her thoughts turned to her mysterious lift guy and she started to think about what he might look like undressed. She thought of what he looked like as he brushed past her to the panel by the door and then to him reaching into his pocket and her eyes running over him. Her body gave a twinge of desire. Oh god stop it, he is too gorgeous for words, totally out of my league and besides I blew it and will never see him again, she was saying to herself as she slowly glided into a deep sleep.

She looked around the office and was surprised it was empty. No, that wasn’t quite right, she saw a shadow moving along the outer reception area through the glass bricks and it was coming her way. She stood still watching as she saw him turn the corner of the partition and walk steadily towards her, his smile disarming as he began to take off his tie and shed other pieces of clothing so that by the time he reached her he was naked and ready to take her. 

Her eyes ran over him taking in every single inch of his being from the delicate notches in his collarbones where they met his shoulders that she just wanted to kiss, then trailing down the through the soft fuzz of man fur on his chest that she wanted to run her fingers through. She gazed at the patch of fur that seemed to cover his stomach as it continued down to the thick thatch his manhood sprang out stiff and upright from. He was so well endowed that her body was in overdrive gazing at him, her lips parted full of desire to feel him and take all that he could offer. 

He leant forward and with a wave of his arm scattered all her desk paraphernalia onto the floor clearing it completely in one single swipe of his muscular arm, then bending slightly, he reached down and lifted the hem of her skirt dragging it up to her waist and placed his arms around her and lifted her onto the desk. He then reached down and slipping a finger into the lace of her panties he slid them down her stockinged thighs and dropped them at his feet as he stepped closer and gently pulled her towards him, spreading her legs to wrap them around his hips as he held himself with one hand. She gasped in her excitement as she was about to slide around him and have him take her. 

‘Skye, cuppa love, breakfast is ready,’ her Mum’s voice floated into her consciousness. ‘What? What?’ she mumbled back, pulling the covers over her head, ‘give me another five minutes,’ she muttered and rolled over drowsing back into a semi sleep state praying her dream would come back. ‘Skye, its quarter past love, you will be late for work and your breakfast is getting cold.’ She groaned as she flung the covers off and stumbled out of bed. Thank god she had a shower last night, she was running late and didn’t have time now and she had lolled around so much in bed that she barely had time to gulp down her brew and hit the road. As it was she very nearly missed all her connections but somehow she managed to get there and by a miracle was even a little earlier than usual. 

She was still feeling disturbed and a little out of it from yesterday and to top it off she couldn’t get rid of the image she had in her dream. She knew that she had to focus because of the computer issues yesterday and she was behind with some of her correspondence but thankfully she had managed to get the report finished that was due today. That had been the whole purpose of staying back last night, to get it finished before leaving, she knew that Sylvia her dreaded supervisor would be expecting it and the last thing that she needed was to have her on her back. For some reason she took a great delight in giving Skye the hardest time out of all the team.

Over the last year she had gone out of her way to allocate Skye with the toughest assignments, a lot of them with the shortest of notice, giving her impossible deadlines to meet and tasks way beyond her job description. She assigned work to her that was more in line with her own role but when questioned about it her justification was simply, that as a supervisor her primary role was to delegate. 

Skye said nothing and put up with it but sooner or later she knew that the day would come when she just would not take it anymore. She had been close to it when she had put forward a proposal that Sylvia took the credit for and she bit her tongue but she had not forgotten the smug look on her face when Sylvia had been given a framed certificate of appreciation for going beyond the call of duty to the company. The other team members were less reticent with their scathing comments and dislike of her and said so on many occasions but every one of them were reluctant to take it further for fear of retribution from upper management as they all thought that Sylvia was seen as the perfect employee. 

She didn’t have time to think about any of that this particular morning, she really wanted to get a head start on things and grabbing her coffee mug she hurried into the kitchen to get a brew before she sat down to her work. She was just pouring milk into her mug when through the large glass window that looked out onto the other side of the office she caught a glimpse of the back of a man. She did a double take as she looked up but before she could get a further look Sylvia’s voice floated through the open doorway. Not wanting to be seen by her, she grabbed her mug and hurried out through the opposite door and made her way back to her desk before opening her inbox and sorting through the many emails she needed to reply to. 

 

For the next hour or so she knuckled down and worked through her various email responses. Gradually others came into the office, each going here and there to their appointed desks and duties. By the time that Skye was due for a tea break she had not only finished clearing out her email but had compiled several reports that were not even due for a few weeks. All in all she was feeling pretty pleased with herself. 

When her office communicator popped up with a message simply stating, ‘TBreak?’ she went off for her break feeling a lot better than she had for weeks and was smiling to herself. It was turning into a great day.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The character of Pat is dedicated to a very special person and is a reflection of the respect that I have for her, she rocks.

‘Pat can you come into my office please,’ Nigel said as he passed her desk. Pat got up and grabbed her note pad as she always did. She knew Nigel and whenever he called her in he generally changed his mind so many times that she had to take notes just to make sure that she got his instructions right. ‘Take a seat will you, we have a few things that we need to go over,’ he said indicating the chair on the opposite side of the desk as though she didn’t know exactly where to sit. She had been his PA for the last three years and knew Nigel inside out. She knew Mary and the kids too, knew their birthdays, the date of their wedding anniversary and even what Mary’s favourite perfume was and her dress size too. In fact, she sometimes thought that she knew his family better than he did but that was all part of her role and she was paid well for it. 

‘So tell me, how did you get on with the new boy? What do you think of him?’ Nigel asked curious to get her opinion. ‘Well I think it is a bit early to tell I mean…’ Nigel interrupted her. ‘Of course it is a bit soon but first impressions?’ She thought for a moment. ‘He seems focussed and he knows his stuff. That was really apparent from the minute he walked in. He seems to have a lot of ideas too.’ Nigel nodded. ‘That reminds me, do you mind filling in for both of us until we can get something sorted? It is only temporary and I will make sure that there is a little extra for you to cover you,’ he smiled. ‘Oh and he wants to see you when you are finished here. Now about those reports that are due today…’ 

The next fifteen minutes were taken up with the regular business needs that Pat had to attend to that day. After she had finished with Nigel she quickly went to the loo, taking her handbag with her and did a touch up to her make-up, brushed her hair and gave herself a light spray of perfume. She checked to make sure that all was right with her skirt, tucking in her shirt and smoothing it into place. She laughed a little at her reflection. Nigel had asked her what she thought of the new boy and what she really thought she couldn’t tell him; he was hot. She looked down at the engagement ring on her finger and smiled, well a girl could look couldn’t she, look but don’t touch. Nothing wrong with a bit of eye candy, just harmless amusement besides, she loved Andy and couldn’t wait to get married but what the hell, the new boy was just a work place distraction to pass the time a bit more pleasantly. 

She knocked quietly on his office door and walked in. He had only been in for a few hours this morning but boy he had been busy. She found that he had completely rearranged the room and she really appreciated the sense in the changes he had made. The room felt lighter, there was just so much more space, the area looked huge compared to before and it made so much more sense to have the desk a bit further over towards that wall and the corner near the venetian blinds that masked the window into the interior of the office, the desk was now hidden from any passing workers so that he would not be distracted. She thought that the way he had set his actual desk up made more sense too, the pc screen now facing away from the window was better for his eyes and he had such lovely eyes, she sighed to herself.

‘Come in, do you like what I have done?’ he asked smiling, really appearing to be interested in what her opinion would be. ‘I thought that I could put the space to better use.’ She smiled and nodded. ‘This is amazing, it totally changes the atmosphere and it is so much bigger,’ she replied looking around really impressed. ‘Take a seat Pat. There are a few things that I am hoping you could organise for me if you don’t mind that is, and if you aren’t too busy, but please let me know if you are?’ he questioned considerately. No one had ever given any consideration to her work load previously, really not even Nigel although he was a bit of a bumbling sweetheart to her. 

‘No, that’s fine. Whatever you need please just let me know.’ She was smiling at him. ‘Nigel has asked me to arrange for someone to be chosen to be your girl so I will get on to that straight away but if there is anything else that I can help you with?’ ‘About that, I was hoping to find someone that is more than just a glorified secretary. What I am really looking for is someone that knows the place, knows how it works and that I can bounce ideas off. I am looking for someone that is more of an assistant with consultative acumen rather than just a go to person to manage correspondence and make coffee. I hope you understand what I mean. I want someone that I can collaborate with. Is there anyone that you know of that you could recommend?’ 

 

Pat thought for a moment. ‘I can draw up and list and I am sure that Nigel would be more than happy to look through it and choose someone for you.’ He shook his head. ‘No I want to interview anyone that you suggest myself. I know what I am looking for and would rather that I keep this as my decision if you understand where I am coming from?’ She could see the sense in that, it made a change to find someone that didn’t just conform to the way that things had been run around there for what seemed like eons. The formal process of applying for a position, making an order of merit, internal cross examinations that never bought out the best in anyone and simply ended up giving the wrong person the position merely because they could write an application but had no other merits, it was such an ingrained process and one that was dispiriting for those that saw the inequality in the way it was done and felt rejected by it. Now here he was changing all that in the blink of an eye. Wow, this is great she thought.

’I know that this is all a bit of a rush but do you think that you could have something for me before lunch? I really am keen to get the ball rolling and start things moving as quickly as possible.’ Pat nodded, making a few notes. ‘No problems, I will get on it right away,’ she said standing to leave. ‘Oh and do you think that you could get me a large table… I want something that I can spread out on, something for layouts and artwork, story boards and such. I was thinking something that would go in front of the window that I can walk around. I am a kind of hands on person and work well that way.’ She made a few more notes and as she was walking out the door he called out politely, ‘Thank you, I really appreciate it, you are a gem,’ he smiled with genuine pleasure at her.

Pat sat down and began to compile a list of names of those that she thought may be deemed suitable for the role. At the same time she called down to the facility guys in the basement and put in an order for what she envisaged he needed in the way of a work table. She was totally impressed with this guy. Not only was he on the ball but he was so polite and amiable and he was fresh and exciting. She just knew he was full of ideas. He had something that Nigel didn’t; he seemed to just ooze polish and modernity. God it made a change. She did love working with Nigel but this guy, he was just something else. 

For the first time in a long time Pat felt excited about coming to work, things were changing and it was going to be interesting to watch.


	8. Chapter 8

The building that housed the office Skye worked in was twelve years old but it seemed ageless. When construction had finished the architect involved actually won awards for its unique design, so contemporary but timeless was its aspect. Although only six stories high, the layout was so cleverly designed that it used all the space in the most practical of ways. Central to the whole site was a huge atrium, a space that was filled with courtyard type garden areas, seating and a small waterfall and a chain of ponds, creating a relaxed and informal place for its inhabitants to unwind away from their various offices. The glass ceiling of the pyramid shaped roof was so cunningly designed that it actually let in sunlight all the way down to the ground floor and gave it almost a conservatory feel when sitting amongst the green areas. In short it was a really pleasant place to work in.

The garden areas were surrounded by various retail outlets including a busy coffee shop, a hairdressing combined nail salon that did a roaring trade with all the females in the building, a jewellery store, a gift shop, a florist, a handbag and travel goods retailer, a chemist and amongst several other outlets including a lingerie store, there was a clothing boutique and a French perfumery and cosmetics outlet. 

If the inside of the building was impressive, that was nothing compared to the exterior. Each level was tiered so that as the front of it progressed upwards, the depth declined just like a pyramid does if it was cut down the middle. On each level along the façade of the building it included a balcony that ran the length of the structure. It was unique and a pleasure to work in such surrounds, the only drawback being that none of the inhabitants got to take advantage of the sunny balcony aspects because the management of the site deemed it inappropriate for the workers to be distracted from the purposes that they were actually there for; namely to work. 

On this particular morning the coffee shop was crowded with its usual ten thirty tea break rush period. Every day it had its regulars and Christine, the manageress, and the rest of the staff knew their orders off by heart so that when Skye walked up to the counter Christine was already calling out to Dom the barista, ‘One weak cap with one sugar’ before turning to her and asking, ‘How are today Skye are you on your own or will they be joining you? I will bring it over to your regular table when it’s ready.’ She smiled as she handed her the change. ‘Thanks Christine, the others will be down in a minute, if you can bring it over that would be great.’ 

Skye was lost in thought when her two mates finally joined her. ‘Sorry we were waiting for the lift, it took ages to come,’ Anna said frowning. ‘Oh don’t start me,’ Skye exclaimed, ‘I was stuck in it for what seemed like hours last night.’ The two others looked at her. ‘You are kidding, you got stuck in the lift, when was this?’ Anna shuddered. ‘I would be going out of my mind, I am claustrophobic so I would be in melt down. Are you ok?’ Skye smiled. ‘Well it wasn’t really that bad,’ she laughed a little, ‘I wasn’t on my own.’ The two other girls looked at each other, raising their eyebrows. ‘Who were you with then? Not Henry or that obnoxious Nick, you know the one that said to me at the farewell for Robert….would you like a screw then pulled out a small screw out of his pocket? Just tell me it wasn’t him?’ 

Skye shook her head. ‘No, it wasn’t either of them. I had never seen this guy before but boy, he was quite something.’ The girls looked at each other again. ‘Well come on, don’t leave it at that, details please,’ Anna was saying. She was the live wire out of the three of them, always out and about, dating lots of guys. Her exploits had the other two in shock at times but she made no bones about it, she wanted to have fun while she was in her twenties, she was determined that come thirty she would settle down and marry and more than likely raise at least three kids with a nice Greek boy like her parents wanted her to but until then, she had about eighteen months of freedom to get out there and live and that is exactly what she was doing. 

‘Aww come on, you have to tell us all about him. How long were you two stuck there then? What was he like? Is he married? What’s his name?’ Anna was asking a million questions. ‘Did he ask you out is more to the point, are you going to see him again,’ the ever cool and rational Pat piped up with. ‘You know who I would kill to be stuck in a lift with,’ Anna smirked. The other two rolled their eyes at each other. ‘Yes, yes we know Bill Compton right? Gees Anna you sure do love that vampire show,’ Pat laughed, ‘I admit that I wouldn’t mind it one bit either but I don’t know how Andrew would feel about bite marks on my neck and err… other places,’ Pat laughed. ‘Now don’t interrupt again, I want to hear all about last night in the lift with Skye and her mysterious stranger.’

‘We were there for about an hour and a half, maybe a bit more than that. He was really nice. I don’t know if he is married but he didn’t have a ring on and,’ she shrugged, ‘I don’t know his name. He didn’t ask me out and I doubt that I will ever see him again,’ Skye replied rather regretfully now that she had time to think about him. She hadn’t had a moment to herself today to think clearly in the last couple of hours since she got to work but she had to admit to herself that when she got in the lift this morning she had half hoped she would see him again. Foolish really she told herself, not going to happen so just put it down to a close encounter with someone that crossed her path and that was it. 

‘You didn’t get his name?’ Pat queried. ‘You didn’t jump his bones?’ Anna said at the same time. Skye was frowning now. She hadn’t really handled the situation entirely well, ranting and raving about work like she did so she was kicking herself at a lost opportunity. ‘Look, I promise both of you that the next time I am working late and get stuck in a lift with a gorgeous hunk I will take down every minor detail including what colour jocks he is wearing and who his mother’s second cousin was, is that ok with the two of you?’ she finished exasperated by the grilling. ‘Oh touchy, very touchy,’ Anna smirked. ‘This guy must have really gotten under your skin,’ she observed.

Skye blushed beetroot red under her scrutiny. ‘How is your morning,’ she asked Pat, ignoring the last remark. Pat, not wanting to cause any further discomfort to her friend, quickly began to tell her about Nigel’s latest cock up that she was going to have to fix and was just about to tell them about the new guy when Sylvia rocked up. 

‘Nice to see that you have time for a break and to sit around doing nothing,’ she stated sarcastically, staring directly at Skye and the looking at her watch meaningfully. ‘I told you that I wanted that report about the latest release first thing this morning and yet here you are sitting here at what…’ she looked at her watch again, ‘ten thirty and drinking coffee with these two. You really are something.’

Skye was seething. She got up immediately. ‘I sent you the report hours ago. I stayed back last night for hours, got stuck in the lift for more hours and didn’t even get home until after ten thirty last night. I got to bed after midnight and still managed to come in early and send you what you asked for and more. If you don’t believe me then fine but if you would like to check your emails you will find that I am right. Did you even bother?’ she asked furiously. ‘I happen to take my responsibilities seriously and if you did, well then perhaps you wouldn’t make these kind of wild accusations and assumptions. And it’s not the first time. I am sick to death of covering up for you all the time, making you look good and it is not going to be happening again I can assure you.’ She then turned around and left without a further word leaving Silvia stunned and the other two silently applauding her.

It was about time someone told it like it was they both thought.


	9. Chapter 9

Skye was waylaid on her way back to her desk by Frank, one of the designers. He was full of questions about their latest project so that is was some twenty minutes later that she made it back to her desk. When she logged into her pc the first thing she noticed were two messages, one from Anna with a little clapping emoticon flashing over and over and the other from Pat simply saying, ‘Read your email NOW.’ She then noticed she had an email notification and was about to read it when Sylvia appeared out of nowhere. 

‘I got the report when you said you sent it but Skye,’ she almost hissed at her, ‘don’t you ever use that tone with me again. I am warning you, I won’t tolerate it. If you want to keep your job you will change your attitude and quick smart. I don’t know who you think you are talking to but I can make things very unpleasant around here for you. I am sure that Nigel would be more than interested in your attitude if I tell him and then you would find that you would not be so quick to be so disrespectful. Just keep that in mind for your own good will you.’ She turned and walked away. 

Skye slumped down in her chair. What had been such a great day was suddenly sickeningly horrible. She was over tired now; all the energy that she had felt buoying her up had just been drained out of her. Silvia was like some blood sucking vampire that just bled you dry and left you shrivelled. She wasn’t the only one to feel like that in the office but for some reason Skye was the only one that seemed to take a stand and try do something about her attitude. And now what did she get, threats. Her eyes pricked with hot tears that she forced back. She was flushed and shaking a little. She wanted to go home she was so upset but she knew that she couldn’t and besides, she was not someone to run away from hard situations but boy, right at that moment she just wanted to find some nice quiet cave to crawl into and shut the world out. 

It always seemed to be the same for her. While others bitched and moaned, coming to her for sympathy and comfort, and because they knew that of all people she was a fix it person, one way or another just about everybody in the team relied on her to stand up for them. She never minded that, not one bit but she was really beginning to worry that she was now seen to be a trouble maker or that is how Silvia would portray her with management if push came to shove. There is such a fine line in office politics between being a champion and being out of work. 

She was starting to fret over her actions now but then she thought that it would more than likely be exactly what Silvia had wanted to happen and she was determined that she wouldn’t fall for it. She had worked too hard to get where she was to throw it all away because of that silly bitch. No, if worst came to worst and she had to front Nigel, she resolved not to go down without a fight. 

She wouldn’t resort to using the same underhanded tactics that she knew that Sylvia would even though she very well could after accidently witnessing her pressing Nigel to the wall of the cloak room, pinning his arms to his sides while she slobbered all over him. Office Christmas parties were the pits. She felt so sorry for him witnessing such a compromising position but knew that he had been helpless to defend himself without relying on brute force and he just wasn’t that kind of person. She had heard him protesting but Sylvia was one very indomitable woman who rarely did not get her own way. For the sake of Nigel and Mary and the kids, Skye had kept her mouth shut but if she was forced to, she could approach Nigel privately and plead her case arguing that he of all people should know how untrustworthy and manipulative she was. 

As she sat staring at her screen she came back into focus when yet another message popped up. ‘Will you read your email IMMEDIATELY? Pat.’ Wondering what could be so important she clicked on it and opened the top one in the grid with the subject heading simply stating, “Interview”. What the hell, what interview she thought as she scanned through the short contents and picked up the phone, dialling Pat’s extension. ‘Hi you have reached …’ Dam it, Pat must be away from her desk, her voicemail picked up. She was about to reread the email when a business alert popped in to her grid notifying all staff that there was to be a general meeting to be held at two o’clock that afternoon and attendance would be mandatory, no ifs or buts, all other duties were cancelled for that time and promptness was a prerequisite. 

Two this afternoon and what was it that other email had said, she had an interview at twelve. Hell, twelve? She looked at the time on her pc and it was nearly ten to twelve already. Bloody hell that only gave her ten minutes to get to the loo, whack on some lipstick, try to calm herself and then get up to the top floor for whatever on earth this interview was all about. She was frazzled. Grabbing her bag, she locked her pc and rushed off. This was not turning out to be one of the greatest days that she had ever had she was thinking to herself as she looked in the mirror, and it showed plainly on her face. God I look a mess. She gave herself a quick spray with her signature perfume that she always carried with her and that never failed to lift her spirits, slathered on some pink lip gloss, straightened her jacket and literally ran for the lift, arriving outside the suite of offices on the top floor with some moments to spare. 

Pat was at her desk now and looked up smiling as she saw Skye walking towards her. ‘What on earth…’ she began but Pat put her fingers to her lips to warn her, pointing to the two open doors into the executive offices, silencing Skye immediately. She could hear voices coming from Nigel’s office, one in particular grating on her, it was Silvia’s and it was coming closer. ‘Come on,’ Pat whispered to Skye and led her quickly into the other office. ‘Take a seat,’ Pat pointed to the chair sitting the side of the desk. ‘What’s going on?’ Skye asked, keeping her voice low. ‘I didn’t have time to tell you before, we got interrupted when Silvia showed up but the new guy is looking for a personal assistant and asked for names so I immediately thought of you. You would be perfect for him Skye, you have everything in you that he is looking for.’

‘Me?’ Skye exclaimed, ‘are you kidding? You know that if anyone is going to get an opportunity like this it will be Sylvia. I don’t know how she will wrangle it but I will bet you that she does.’ Pat shook her head. ‘I am not so sure about that.’ She fell silent for a moment to listen as Silvia must have been leaving Nigel’s office, her loud voice simpering through the doorway, gushing and fawning… ‘Thank you so much for your time. I am so looking forward to working with you. I am sure that Nigel can confirm the value of my past track record. Nigel and I go way back,’ Sylvia giggled, ‘don’t we Nigel? We have shared many successes together over the course of time, why we just make the greatest of teams don’t we?’ She simpered on and on until they heard Nigel’s voice cutting her short. ‘Thanks Silvia we will talk again soon I am sure.’

‘It’s sickening isn’t it,’ Pat proclaimed, ‘and that is something that will go against her. This new guy doesn’t strike me as someone who would fall for that, he is totally different to old Nigel and I am sure Sylvia won’t cut it with him.’ ‘What’s he like?’ Skye asked curiously. They had all been sent a memo last week that there was to be a restructure at the top. They knew that even though the company was doing ok, things were not as they once had been. They had been losing ground in their share of the market, things were going stale and they needed to take action before the inevitable slide began. Consequently, they had been told that a new gun was coming in to possibly sort things out but that was all that they had been told. No one was privy to who and what was going to happen other than Nigel and of course Pat, as she had to be included in making arrangements, organising memos and all the other necessary preparations that would need to take place for a smooth transition.

Pat’s face broke into a smile but before she could answer she heard his voice near Nigel’s door. ‘He’s coming, I have to go. Good luck, be yourself and just remember one day that I was the first to say this; I am sure that he will love you.’


	10. Chapter 10

The first thing he noticed as he walked back into his office was a faint trace of perfume. It was only a subtle waft but it stirred his memory, then as he rounded the doorway and he turned to close the door he saw her back view as she sat at his desk waiting for him. The square of her slim shoulders, the tight fit of her well cut jacket and the way her hair was held up in a suitably coiffured French Twist gave him a start. The list that Pat had prepared had simply provided initials and surnames with a further link attached to their company records detailing all of their particulars, which he hadn’t even had the chance to go through yet. He wanted to conduct the interviews so that he could form his own opinion before reading records and making a decision, so that when he had seen the next name on the list being S. Mitchell, it had meant nothing to him, it was just another name. 

But now he had stopped dead in his tracks. It was her, it was Skye. If the waft of perfume hadn’t given it away then just her back view would have. He had it indelibly etched into his memory as she had walked away from him last night. He hurriedly attempted to regain his composure as he passed behind her to sit down at his desk softly saying, ‘Hello Skye,’ as he did so. 

At the sound of his voice she had jumped, recognition twanging through her mind. Oh god, it couldn’t be! Then as he came into her vision she felt her heart race. Oh lord it is, it is the guy from the lift and in her nervousness she said that first thing that popped into her head. ‘God, I didn’t think that I would ever see you again.’ She cringed before she even got all the words out. Fuck, what an idiot I am, just calm down, her brain kept willing her to take control but her heart was really racing now and she was beginning to sweat. He smiled. ‘Neither did I,’ he said softly, ‘did you get home alright, how did you sleep?’ It was his turn to mentally kick himself. What the fuck am I saying, god don’t talk about sleeping or you are going to start thinking about that dream then you know what is going to happen don’t you, his conversation with himself was warning him. 

‘By the time I got home, had a shower, ate and then got to bed I couldn’t sleep,’ she went on, ‘I couldn’t stop thinking about…’ she had been about to say that she couldn’t stop thinking about him but she stopped abruptly, going red in the face at the thought. Instead, to cover her embarrassment she said, ‘look I am really sorry about ranting on last night I really didn’t mean it; you must think that I am a total idiot.’ He was looking at her face, watching her closely and thinking that he had thought more about her in the last twenty four hours than he had thought about any other woman, ever. ‘I don’t think that you are an idiot Skye.’ She looked doubtful. ‘Look,’ she said again totally flustered, ‘I know that I am really wasting your time, Sylvia will be more than fine as your assistant. I am sure she thinks she will be too.’ She got up abruptly and started towards the door. 

‘Are you kidding me? Don’t go’ his voice was sharp and commanding. ‘Hell would freeze over before I give that self-opinionated obnoxious woman this position. God, there is no way that I could work with her. She represents everything that I know is wrong with this place, your talk last night just confirmed what the research that I have been doing over the last couple of weeks pointed out glaringly. Of course I didn’t know at the time that you were talking about here but I can see exactly why you would be feeling so frustrated right now.’ She turned and looked at him, mouth open with surprise. 

‘Everything that you said last night is what I abhor about the way things are run. It is something that I have dealt with before. It is old school and doesn’t cut it. It may have been fine to run things in that manner forty years ago when it was a man’s world but we live in different times. Everything is so exciting with all the technology we have at our finger tips and I want everyone to feel as enthusiastic as you do. I want everyone to get out of bed in the morning and feel that they can’t wait to get to work. I want it to be a mutually rewarding relationship between us, err between the company and its employees and with the client’s too. There is no reason why it can’t be like that. I am going to be making changes but I would really like you to be a part of that. It can be a wonderful experience Skye, we can be exciting.’

‘I want you Skye,’ he said, flushing a little. Oh shit, I can’t believe I said that. ‘You have the position, it’s yours,’ he went on hastily. ‘From now on you work for me.’ She was still staring at him. ‘I am sorry, what I should say is that you are working with me and no one else, that is if you want to? If you think that you could put up with me.’ He smiled a little insecurely at her, hoping that she would jump at the chance but afraid she would reject it, not knowing if she saw this as the opportunity that he felt he was offering her.

She felt dizzy. This couldn’t be happening. Pulling herself together she nodded. ‘I would love to be with you, be on your team that is,’ she almost squeaked. ‘Good, then that is all settled, we will sort out the details later but I was thinking an extra twenty five a fortnight,’ he queried, ‘if that is ok with you?’ Twenty five quid she was thinking, hell the money didn’t really matter but everything helped. ‘Twenty five pounds a fortnight is fine,’ she smiled. He shook his head. ‘Sorry I think you misunderstood me, that is twenty five hundred a fortnight.’ He walked over to where she was still standing rooted to the spot, holding his hand out. ‘Deal?’ he questioned. ‘Deal,’ she croaked her voice almost failing her as she took his hand. She was absolutely flummoxed. 

Neither admitted that they both felt the warmth of each other’s skin tingling through them, sending tiny shocks through their bodies. ‘Here’s to a long and fruitful collaboration and relationship,’ he grinned. She nodded again, her face breaking out into a shy smile as they both held each other’s hands a little longer that was totally necessary, staring at each other until they finally broke free. 

He glanced down at his watch and shook his head. ‘It’s nearly twelve forty five. I want you to go and take an hour for lunch, get some food into you and get a bit of a break. I am sure that you must be tired after last night,’ he said thoughtfully. ‘I.. I am a bit tired but I am fine really. I don’t normally take a lunch break, I work through most days.’ He shook his head. ‘That has to stop. You need to take breaks; it gives your body and your mind time to recover. I don’t want you over doing it. I wouldn’t want you to get sick. Now go on and get some lunch and we will talk later,’ he insisted. ‘Oh and Skye,’ he added as an afterthought, ‘I would prefer if you didn’t say anything yet to anyone. Obviously Nigel and Pat will know, but I prefer to handle things in my own way so just hold fire for the moment will you?’ ‘Sure,’ she nodded as he opened the door for her and she walked out.

Pat looked up from her desk and across to where Skye was walking past with the oddest expression on her face. ‘How did it go?’ she was asking but Skye didn’t even answer. ‘Heh,’ Pat said getting up and walking over to her, ‘are you alright?’ Skye looked at Pat almost without seeing her. ‘Come with me,’ Pat urged her, taking her over to the small reception area just nearby that was furnished with chairs and lounges clustered around small low tables and sat her down. ‘Are you alright? What’s the matter?’ Pat was keeping her voice low so as not to be overheard. Skye looked at her and simply said, ‘It was him.’ ‘Sorry?’ Pat frowned, ‘who was him and who is him? I haven’t got a clue of what you are talking about.’ Skye shook her head. ‘The guy in the lift, it was him.’ ‘You mean the hunk that you told us about, that was Roland? Skye I want details. You had better tell me everything that happened and for God sakes, what happened in the interview?’ 

Skye was just about to tell her when his voice came floating across from her desk. ‘Can I see you for a moment if you aren’t busy?’ Then looking over he saw Skye. ‘Oh I am sorry, come in when you are free, no hurry. And Skye, I want you to go grab something to eat, please make sure that you do,’ he said concerned, ‘you need to after being up so late last night and not getting much sleep.’ He turned and went back into his office leaving Pat open mouthed. She turned to her with her eyebrows raised. ‘It’s not what you think,’ Skye blushed. ‘Look you need to go do what you have to do and I really do need to get something to eat. I will explain I promise but not now.’ 

With that she got up and wandered off still half dazed. And to think only an hour ago she had thought that her great day had gone down the drain and now … now it was like a whole new door in her life opening up.


	11. Chapter 11

‘Pat I still need that table but could you also order another desk. I want Skye to be with me, working with me that is and as we will be working closely together, I want to set up the desks myself. Also, can you get someone to pack up her current work point, I don’t want her to have to be bothered with it. No hurry, after the meeting this afternoon will be fine if you don’t think that it can be done sooner. I will be announcing her appointment then but of course no one else is to know until I make the announcement, is that ok with you?’ She was grinning from ear to ear. That was certainly fine with her. In fact, as she walked back to her desk, she was so looking forward to seeing the look on Sylvia’s face that she actually laughed out loud. She was excited too. She couldn’t wait to hear what the hell went on last night, that to her was the million dollar question but she knew Skye and she trusted her so that she also thought that she got the position because of her ethics and not because of anything else, and that made a huge change. 

She didn’t know why but she somehow had the feeling that Sylvia had some kind of strange hold over Nigel and she was determined to find out, one way or another, what it was. She just didn’t trust her and as funny as she thought it will be to see her reaction, she had the feeling in the back of her mind that she was going to cause a mess of trouble. In the mean time she had a lot to arrange and she needed to get on with it so that everything would be done just as Roland had asked. She smiled to herself again; this was going to be perfect. Not only was Roland a total pleasure to work with but she was going to be working with Skye too. It was just too good to be true. Some days it was just so worth getting out of bed she laughed to herself. 

Skye got out of the lift on the ground floor and made her way over to the coffee shop. Christine looked up in surprise to see her. ‘Hi Skye, it’s not often we see you here at lunch, what can I get you?’ She looked over the array of temptingly carb loaded fair in the glass display by passing the various calorie enriched pastas and pies, focaccias and pastries laden with cheeses and creamy fillings then she spotted a nice green salad. ‘Could I get that salad please? Oh wait, does it have onions or garlic? I don’t want to go back to work smelling like a bus driver’s arm pit.’ Christine laughed. ‘Now that is sure considerate of you. Most people wouldn’t give it a thought and trust me they don’t. And to answer your question, no there is not a skerrick of any nasties in there. It is nothing but healthy goodness. Heh, how would you like me to make you one of my special energy drinks to go with that?’ Skye smiled gratefully. ‘Sure that would be great.’ ‘Ok no worries, I will bring it over if you want to go and sit down.’

She sat herself down at one of the stools over along the bench that ran along the outside of the café, strategically nestled in amongst palm fronds and plants that bordered one of the smaller water features. It was quiet and she needed that. She was still in a dream and pinching herself and she didn’t want to run into anyone at the moment, she just wanted to sit and take it all in, think about what had just happened and where it could take her. 

She really couldn’t believe any of this was happening. She had worked for the company for what seemed like an eternity, putting up with so much and always hoping but not expecting any recognition. It wasn’t that kind of place. She had seen people, good people come and go because of the lack of foresight by upper management and it had hurt her sense of justice. She had seen it all and saw the way those that seem to have very little knowledge of the day to running of the place became entrenched in higher positions and gained kudos where none were deserved. She knew that it was par for the course in most work places but that was cold comfort when it was happening to her and was so very real. 

She tried not to let it get to her. Every night on the way home she kept telling herself to turn off, this was her time not the office’s time, don’t take it home with you, just don’t let it get to you but that is easier said than done. It wasn’t that she was ambitious, every ambitious bone in her body had been trampled on enough by now to have broken any hopes that she had of going anywhere in the place but it was more the inequality of it all and the fact that for some reason she thought that she was letting herself down by not bettering her situation. 

But now, now that had all changed. She had hope that all the ideas that she had stored in her head and had closed the door on, all the processes that she had worked out, maybe just maybe now she had someone that would listen to her and embrace them. 

She sat slowly munching on her salad, not really all that hungry now as her head was so full of concepts and designs for new and exciting ventures so that when Christine came over to collect her dishes she realised that she had really only eaten about one third of it but had found herself full. Paying her bill she got up and looked at her watch. She still had about twenty minutes before she was due back so she decided to go for a quick browse through the shops. 

She was walking past the up market little boutique that she had walked past a million times but never really been into much, she just couldn’t afford to spend much on anything extra, her wardrobe was smart and practical but limited to mix and match items that were respectable enough for her job however she suddenly realised that even though she always looked immaculately groomed, her new role really would entail mixing with some fairly high powered people and she could do with a bit of sprucing up. Plus, unbelievably she was going to have money, more money than she had ever thought possible and even though she wasn’t going to go on a spending spree or anything like that, she justified a new wardrobe as befitting to her new position. 

When she walked out ten minutes later she had a smart grey and black sculptured figure hugging dress, two new shirts, a skirt and a pair of jeans and she felt incredible. On her way back to the lift she hurried into the perfumery and picked up a bottle of her Mum’s favourite perfume, Estee Lauder’s eternal Youth Dew, even having it gift wrapped to boot. She made it back upstairs with a few minutes to spare to freshen up before heading for the large breakout area of the third floor that was set aside for staff meetings. 

There was a large group of staff already arrived and all talking animatedly. Most of them knew that there was someone new up at the top and all were eager to find out exactly how that would affect them. The general consensus of scepticism in regards to change filtered through the room. The meeting today was thought to be more of the same guff that everyone had been through before, some new geezer comes in, sprouts off about boosting productivity and lifting their game, work harder and take less days off and on and on it would go. They had heard it all before. So when everyone was assembled and Nigel called for quiet, no one was expecting what was to come in the next hour. 

‘My name is Roland Barker and my office door will always be open to each and every one of you. Things are going to be changing here and I expect that all of you are going to embrace the changes and enjoy them. I am not here to fire anyone; I am not here to berate anyone. I am here to listen to each and every one of you and to work with you all. In doing so I want to make this somewhere that you will not only like coming to work for but that you will feel like you are rewarded for the efforts you and everyone that you work with put in.’

‘Before we get down to it I would like to introduce you to my assistant. If I am not available I want you to come to her and she will act on my behalf.’ 

Sylvia preened herself, finally this was her moment, and she had been waiting for so long to be able to have some control. Although she had been a little taken aback by his opening remarks she had taken them with a grain of salt thinking that he was just paying lip service to win over the group. She had begun to slowly inch forward with a smile on her face and what she hoped was a not too smug look as she waited for him to call her name.

He looked around before seeing Skye standing over to the side near the back of the room and smiled, waving to her. ‘Everyone I am sure that you all know her and I hope that you are as pleased as I am to be working so closely with her. Skye Mitchell will be my associate so please make her feel welcome to the role. Come on up here Skye,’ he motioned to her as she made her way through the applauding crowd to the front of her room. She even blushed as she got a few pats on the back, woof whistles and a hug from Pat and Anna before she came to stand next to him. 

Everyone in the room was truly happy for her. Everyone that is with one exception, Sylvia had the unmistakeable look of pure hatred on her face and Skye, catching a glimpse of her as she pushed through the crowd and left the room, she saw it and knew that she was in for trouble but just how much trouble she could never have guessed.


	12. Chapter 12

Skye stood quietly next to Roland while he went on to finish his address to the assembled group outlining what he envisaged would be the general direction the company would be taking over the next twelve months. 

‘Now, I have taken up enough of your time so thank you all for coming and I want you to go home and think things over. I want the focus of this company to be one of collective enterprise and collaboration. From now on in every department I want open and honest communication on all levels and above all I want transparency, not just when dealing with clients but right here and starting from right now. And seeing that it has just gone three o’clock, I want everyone to go home for the rest of the day. Tomorrow is a brand new day for the company and I want you all to look forward to it.’

The group broke out into a resounding and spontaneous round of applause and not just for being given the afternoon off. There were a lot of those present that like Skye, they felt that they had worked their butts off for the company and never been duly recognised but for some reason they suddenly had a glimmer of hope and felt good about themselves. There was not one person that left that room without a smile on their face, well other than Sylvia’s earlier departure that was.

‘You were great,’ Skye smiled up at Roland when he was free of the throng of well-wishers that had surrounded him immediately after the conclusion to his speech. ‘How do you think it went then? Do you think that they believed me or are they just happy to be leaving early?’ he was asking when they finally left to make their way back to his office. 

Skye gave a bit of a chuckle. ‘Well, do you want the truth or do you only want to hear what you want to hear?’ she asked, genuinely hoping that his answer would be the former and not the later. He stopped walking and turned to her, his face was serious. ‘I only ever want to hear the truth from you, nothing else. I want you to be the one person in this whole place that I can truly believe in and trust no matter what. Can you do that Skye, can you be that person?’ 

She looked up into his blue eyes and saw so much hope in the way that his eyes were questioning her. She noticed how very serious he was looking and she felt a chill run down her. His eyes were telling her that he just wanted to hear a yes from her and without hesitation she replied, ‘Yes, you can trust me if that is what you are asking. I’ll always be honest with you, it is my honesty that is always getting me into trouble,’ she smiled weakly at him thinking of her earlier encounter with Sylvia. 

‘It will never get you into trouble with me I promise you that. It was your honesty last night in the lift that made me choose you for the job. You are exactly what this place and all work places need. The problem with most companies these days is that those at the top never consult with the ones that do the actual work. They make changes to how things are done regardless of whether it will work or not and regardless of the cost to those that have to implement and perform those changes. In the long run it doesn’t benefit anyone, not even the stockholders as clientele generally drops off and things start going to hell.’

They were walking back into his office as they were talking and Skye suddenly looked around stopping dead in her tracks. She couldn’t believe it but in only the few short hours since she had there the whole layout looked different. In front of the wall to ceiling plate glass windows and double doors that led out onto the balcony there was a large table that had various documents spread out in a methodical pattern and it was evident that they formed part of a flow chart Roland was already concocting. Then she noticed as she turned to her right there was another desk, slightly smaller than his but what caught her eye the most was all her bits and pieces neatly arranged just as she had left them down on the second floor. Somehow he had managed to get everything organised and sorted so that she hadn’t had to lift a finger. Even her own chair was standing behind the desk waiting for her. She was gob smacked at his efficiency.

‘Wow, you sure move fast,’ was all she could say. He stood there grinning at her. ‘I didn’t want you to have to do anything. I hate packing and unpacking so I thought that I would spare you. Have you got everything, is there anything that I have forgotten or that you think you might need?’ he questioned as he walked over to her desk and straightened her calendar and moved her monitor a little. ‘I will get you and ergonomic desk check tomorrow to make sure that it is all fine but I am pretty good at setting up the desk and chair height so that it will be a safe working environment. Come over and sit down, I want to make sure that the screen height is right for you.’

She walked over and took her seat as he stood there watching with an experienced eye. ‘Hmm, the screen could go up a little,’ he said leaning forward as he stood next to her and adjusted it. ‘Now hands on your keyboard,’ he ordered. She immediately placed her hands on the keys. ‘No, you need to drop the keyboard down like this,’ and he reached out and dropped the legs down a notch so that it was lying flatter instead of raised up on an angle. ‘See, you need your arms to be at right angles like this.’ He reached over again and gently held her wrist resting in the palm of one hand while showing her how to hold her hand correctly. 

‘You don’t want to have them tilted, here I will show the difference.’ Still supporting her wrist he bent her hand up a little then letting go of her fingers he said to her, ‘There, can you feel the difference here?’ He softly ran his fingers along her wrist and a little up her arm as he flexed her hand up and down showing her how the different positions affected the muscles in her arms. 

She could feel the warmth of his hand supporting her wrist and he was standing so closely she could smell his aftershave mixed with something else, she didn’t know what it was but she was having a hard time concentrating on what he was saying and when he ran his fingers lightly along the muscle of her arm she began to tingle and her heart started to race. 

He could smell her perfume, god that perfume was intoxicating. He loved it. He could feel her pulse as he held her wrist and it was running fast. He tried hard to focus on what he was saying to her but it wasn’t easy. Her racing heartbeat set him reacting in a way that he knew was dangerous not to mention totally inappropriate. Concentrate he kept telling himself. 

‘How does that feel?’ he asked trying to keep his voice under control. She closed her eyes for a moment and felt his warm skin supporting her wrist as she murmured softly, ‘It feels good,’ then snapping back to reality she opened her eyes and glanced briefly into his. ‘It’s good, fine in fact,’ steading her voice and trying to sound professional before they both broke the glance and looked off, looking anywhere but at each other. ‘Ok then,’ he stood up to his full height after stooping down to be closer to her and straightened his tie to distract himself from his thoughts. 

‘Right well then, it looks like everything is set up for you for tomorrow so,’ he smiled, ‘I will see you in the morning. Have a good night Skye and thank you for accepting the position. I hope that you will find it as rewarding as I intend it to be.’ She stood up and picked up her handbag before making her way to the door.

She turned around and looked back at him smiling. ‘Thank you for giving me this chance. And thank you for believing in me. I am looking forward to being with you.’

‘Oh and Roland,’ she looked across the room and their eyes met. ‘You can trust me. I promise I won’t let you down.’


	13. Chapter 13

‘Hi Mum, I’m home.’ Skye’s voice floated down the hallway as she walked in and made her way to the kitchen where she knew her Mum would be busy making dinner. ‘Is that you Skye? You’re home early love, is anything the matter?’ Mrs Mitchell was standing by the kitchen sink peeling potatoes when Skye walked in the door and over to her Mum and hugged her. ‘Now then, what’s that all about and why are you home so early?’ she asked concerned that there was something amiss. 

‘Nothing is wrong I promise. I have had the most incredible day. You won’t believe what happened.’ She then proceeded to fill her Mum in with all the details of her day, well not all the details. She didn’t tell her how just the mere touch of Roland’s skin against hers made her shake or how blue his eyes were or any of the other feelings that she had when she looked at him. ‘Oh Mum!’ she squealed unable to contain her excitement any longer and jumping up from where she had been sitting at the kitchen table where she had been helping to chop up some carrots while she talked, she fairly skipped over to the sink and hugged her tightly. 

‘I just can’t tell you how much this means to me,’ she bubbled. ‘Well love, all I can say is that it is about time. With the amount of hours that you have put in at that place I am happy that my girl is finally getting the recognition and opportunities that she deserves. I have always believed in you Skye, your Father and I are proud of you, you know that don’t you. No matter what you do we know that you will always do what you think is right,’ and putting down her knife she wiped her hands on the tea towel hanging next to her and hugged her back. ‘Now go on love, go up and take a shower. Dinner will be ready in about half an hour so you will have enough time.’

‘Thanks Mum, thanks for everything. I don’t know what I would do without you and Dad’s support. You have been the best parents.’ She turned and went to go upstairs then remembered her packages. ‘Oh I almost forgot. I got you a little something to celebrate my promotion.’ Reaching into one of the bags she drew up the brightly coloured gift wrapped bottle of perfume. ‘This is for you Mum. Wear it with my love,’ and she was gone before her Mum could say anything. 

Racing up the stairs with the rest of her parcels she got to her bedroom and shut the door before throwing herself on the bed and hugging herself with happiness. All the pent up emotions that she had kept in check throughout the day snapped and popped through her head like a fizzy drink, boiling over with the unbelievable reality of how much her life was about to change. This didn’t happen to someone like her she thought as she lay on the bed thinking about everything. It was like a dream come true. 

She suddenly jumped up and emptied the bags of purchases onto her bed then stood in front of her long mirror holding up each new item of clothing before trying them on again. She just couldn’t make up her mind which she loved the most or what to wear tomorrow for her first day working in her new position. Come on her brain kidded her, it wasn’t the new position she was really thinking of when she was trying on the outfits, it was which one would look the most flattering and appealing to her new boss. 

She loved the skirt that she had bought and it mixed well with one of the shirts that she had chosen but it was the dress that won out in the end. Cunningly cut from some kind of stretch fabric, the sleeves and sides were a deep black but there was a geometric charcoal grey coloured panel down the front that through an optical illusion, it made her waist seem tiny while emphasising her ample breasts. She had matching black shoes that had two tiny rows of ruffles in grey leather running across them at the front and matched the dress perfectly. She got them out and put them on then stood in front of the mirror pirouetting around to catch every angle that she could. Yes, that’s the one she thought as she finally made her decision, that is what I will wear tomorrow. 

‘Skye, dinner is on the table love.’ Her Mum’s voice calling up the stairs pulled her back to reality. Lord she had spent so much time mucking about with her clothes that she hadn’t even had time to grab a shower. No matter, after dinner would do and she hurriedly hung everything carefully on hangers and ran down the stairs to join her family. 

After dinner she finally grabbed a shower, taking extra time to give her hair a deep moisturising treatment, something that she didn’t do that often but she really wanted to look and feel special for her first day in her new job. She was just drying her hair when her phone rang, Anna’s name and number flashing on the screen as the ring tone blasted out the old disco song ‘Hot Stuff’ a particular favourite of Anna’s and the one that she had laughingly cajoled her into downloading and using. 

‘So, how the hell did you swing that one? I am so happy for you but hell I am green with envy. God that Roland, he is one hottie, how on earth are you ever going to get any work done? If it was me I would have his pants off and jump his bones quicker than lightening. God did you see his eyes, they are incredible and that body, he is just stunningly gorgeous. He even gives Bill Compton a run for his money.’ Anna barely drew breath before she was off again and before Skye even had time to say hello. ‘Oh god, not that you don’t deserve the position but hell, you have just fallen flat on your feet,’ Anna observed. The conversation went on for some minutes with Anna insisting she wanted to be considered as her ‘under study’ for the position should Skye ever need back up and it was only when she got another call that laughing, Skye hung up with the promise of suggesting it to Roland first thing in the morning. 

‘Hi, how are you? Have you come down off cloud nine yet?’ Pat at least asked her how she was before launching into a dozen questions. ‘Just tell me what happened in the lift first of all then we can talk about the rest of today. Skye I have to tell you how really happy I am for you. No one deserves a chance like you do. I haven’t wiped the grin off my face all day.’ The sincerity in Pat’s voice was genuine and she felt really lucky to have such a really good friend to share with. 

She spent the next twenty minutes telling her all that had happened and of the interview too. If she skipped over the details of how Roland made her feel it wasn’t because she didn’t want to share, she just didn’t want anyone to know. It was personal and besides, she didn’t want to say it out loud. She really liked him and was scared if she said it then it would take something away from it plus, she kept telling herself, that really he was just being nice to her like he was to everyone. He just seemed to be a really nice guy and there was nothing in it so she didn’t want to get all excited over nothing. 

‘If you need a hand with anything just let me know. I know that the job is going to be new to you but I can give you any help that you need so just let me know. I have the feeling that Roland is really going to shake the place up but in a good way,’ Pat had been saying. ‘Are you nervous? I would be … oh hell look at the time, it’s nearly eight thirty… come on girl get cracking. See you in the morning,’ and she hung up. Skye fled down the stairs two at a time and fairly ran over to the TV just as the show started. It was a ritual with the three of them, Pat, Anna and herself, True Blood was on and they didn’t miss a single episode. 

The show had been on for about ten minutes when her mum came into the room. ‘What on earth are you watching?’ she asked as she sat down on the lounge next to her. ‘That looks like…no, it can’t be! Is it him, is it … ’ Skye laughed interrupting her, ‘Yes, that’s him. It’s quite a shock isn’t it hearing him with that Southern accent, nothing at all like anything else you have seen him in.’ Her mum sat glued to the TV not saying a word until the show was over. She hadn’t moved a muscle and didn’t even blink when the hot sex scene had come on nor when the vampire had turned into a pile of goo after being staked. ‘I never would have recognised him. What a transformation from his normal roles. How often is this on?’ Skye was laughing now. ‘I have all the seasons on DVD if you are interested in watching them. They are over on the hutch. This season is…’

She was interrupted by the appearance of her Dad. ‘Skye love, phone call for you,’ he said handing her the handset. She was surprised as all her friends had her mobile number and she couldn’t imagine who would be calling her on the landline. 

‘Hello,’ she said. ‘Hello Skye?’ the voice on the other end queried, ‘it’s Roland, Roland Barker.’


	14. Chapter 14

Her heart gave a skip just at the sound of his voice and she got up and walked into the hallway and down towards the kitchen for a bit more privacy but then changed her mind. ‘Hello,’ she said back, her voice going a little husky at the thought of him calling her at home. ‘Hi, I hope that I am not disturbing you too much?’ ‘Roland could you give me a moment?’ She turned around and bolted up the stairs to her bedroom quietly closing the door after her.

‘Hi I am here,’ she said a little shyly. ‘Hi,’ he said again, his voice now hesitating a little. ‘I am sorry to ring you at home, I got your phone number from personal, I hope that you don’t mind?’ he asked. ‘No, not at all, I should give you my mobile number though, in case you need it.’ ‘Ok, hang on I’ll just grab a pen and write it down then I will put it in my address book. You should have mine too, you know, just in case you need me.’ ‘Ok, good idea, give me a sec though and I’ll just crank up my pc and put it in the folder I keep for work then I’ll add it to my address book too.’ 

He was sitting at his desk at home having left work and quickly cooking himself some dinner before settling down to do some work but his mind just wasn’t really focussing. He couldn’t get the thought of her racing pulse out of his brain. He kept smelling her perfume too and picturing the way that hair seemed to shine when the light caught it. Before leaving the office for the day he had called down to personal and got her contact details, he really didn’t know why he had done it, perhaps it was a subconscious idea that was in the back of his head but now sitting there he just couldn’t get ringing her off his mind. 

The minute he had dialled the number though the perceived reason he had for calling her simply vanished and now with her on the other end of the line, he felt like a fourteen year old with a first crush on a girl. He felt awkward and tongue tied and didn’t really know what to say. ‘I hope that I am not disturbing you,’ he said again, then kicked himself, he’d already said that. ‘No, really its ok, I’ve had my shower and finished watching TV so I wasn’t really doing anything.’ There was a pause while both of them tried to think of something to say to each other. ‘Oh do you shower at night? I prefer it too.’ 

Oh hell what am I saying he was thinking, don’t get personal with her. ‘The reason that I was ringing,’ ‘Yes,’ she was waiting for him to go on, ‘well I just wanted to confirm what time you normally get in to work.’ He was cringing but he couldn’t think of anything better to say. ‘Oh I can come in whenever you want me.’ It was her turn to cringe, did that sound like she was fawning over him, too eager to please? Hell she didn’t want it to sound like that but she was willing to fit in with any preferences that he had. ‘Really I am just grateful that you want me so whatever time suits you is fine with me.’ She cringed again and hoped that she didn’t sound too gushy. ‘I normally get in quite early that way if I get held up I have time up my sleeve. I don’t mind working back well,’ she laughed as she said this, ‘you already know that don’t you after last night.’

‘I prefer to get in early too so that is going to work out well. I suppose I had better let you go then so you can get to bed. We had rather a late night last night didn’t we?’ Oh shit what am I saying he thought, his thoughts flying back to her on the floor of the lift, her blouse open and revealing. He felt himself going red and was glad that she couldn’t see him. ‘Oh I wasn’t planning on going to bed for ages yet,’ she replied trying to stifle a yawn. She was really tired now. It had been such a full day and she had gotten to bed so late last night that it was all finally catching up with her. 

‘You’re tired, I should let you go.’ He was yawning now too and she giggled. ‘Sorry, it’s infectious isn’t it, you know one person yawns then it starts everyone off. I have never understood how that happens.’ He was laughing too. ‘Me neither but it never fails does it?’ She yawned again and they both laughed. ‘Well I’ll see you in the morning then.’ He was doing his best not to yawn again now. ‘Ok I will see you then,’ she replied with a smile in her voice. ‘Goodnight then, have a good sleep.’ ‘Thanks Roland, you too, and thanks for calling and for everything. I am still pinching myself that you chose me. I will try my best not to let you down.’ 

He was smiling as he listened to her. ‘Skye you could never let me down.’ Oh god what am I saying… she probably thinks I am an idiot saying something like that. He rushed on, ‘I am sure that you are going to be perfect for the position so don’t worry about anything, okay?’ She hesitated. ‘Well okay if you say so. I will do my best.’ ‘Good night and have a good night,’ he repeated. He knew he should hang up but really didn’t want to. Skye knew that she should hang up too but she was reluctant to, she just loved the sound of his voice and didn’t want to stop talking.

‘Well I best let you go. I suppose you are busy,’ she felt like she was starting to waffle now and didn’t know what to say. ‘No, really I’m not doing anything. I was just sitting here trying to go over some documents that I want you to have a look at tomorrow, just some ideas that I have that I want your opinion on but I couldn’t concentrate.’ ‘Oh that will be great. I have some ideas too that I thought perhaps you might be interested in. That is if you don’t mind me running them by you?’ she asked shyly. ‘That would be perfect. That is just what I want, to get some fresh ideas from someone who knows the company and knows their stuff and I am sure that you do. I can’t wait to hear what you have come up with.’

‘Well some of the ideas may not be viable, I have tried to keep things cost effective and practical but it has been hard to get a decent idea of how we are tracking when I didn’t have all the data available but I can revise things if you can supply me with further information. Any way you can take a look at things and see what you think. I won’t be offended if you think that they are a load of old rubbish.’ ‘Skye I am sure that they won’t be and even if they need to be tweaked a bit we could work things out. I am open to suggestions, particularly from you.’ ‘Oh that is so sweet.’ 

She could have bitten her tongue, she sounded so sugary in her own mind and now she was totally lost for words. There was a silence then they both started talking at once. ‘I had better let you get to bed,’ Roland said as Skye said, ‘I suppose I had better let you get back to whatever you are doing.’ They both paused again then laughed a little. ‘Goodnight Roland, get a good sleep.’ ‘Good night Skye, sweet dreams.’

Roland was cringing again as he hung up after saying that but if had only been able to see Skye at that moment it would have been a different matter, she was hugging herself and smiling delightedly thinking that if her dreams were all about him then yes, she would definitely be having sweet dreams. 

And she couldn’t wait.


	15. Chapter 15

‘Wow, you look sensational. Is that a new dress?’ Pat asked as she walked into the atrium to find Skye standing waiting for the lift the next day. Skye smiled at her. ‘Yes, I got it at Renee’s yesterday. Do you like it? It isn’t over the top is it?’ Pat shook her head. ‘You look a million bucks. Are they new shoes? They are so cute and they go with the dress.’ The lift finally arrived and they got in. ‘No, I’ve had them for ages but just haven’t worn them that much. I rather thought that they were too good for work.’ ‘Bet I know what changed your mind,’ Pat laughed, ‘out to impress are we?’ Skye went red. ‘No I’m not! I just wanted to look the part on the first day that’s all.’ Pat gave Skye’s arm a squeeze. ‘You will be great and just remember, if you need any help let me know. I have been doing this for a while now.’

‘Thanks I will, trust me, but I have the feeling that Roland is a totally different kettle of fish to Nigel. He rang me last night and we are going to go over some ideas that I have.’ Pat looked at her astonished. ‘He rang you? He rang you at home? Nigel wouldn’t even know what my number is let alone ask me for any ideas. I can’t believe he rang you at home. Why didn’t you tell me last night when we were talking?’ ‘He rang later, after you had hung up.’ ‘Oh no, you didn’t miss any True Blood did you?’ Skye laughed. ‘No it was after TB. What did you think of the episode,’ she asked changing the subject, ‘you know my mum is hooked on it now? She sat down and started watching with me the minute that she saw who was in it and this morning, before I went to work, she asked me where all my DVDs were. I had them all on the hutch and Paul had moved them. He’s been watching them. He’s an Eric fan.’ 

Pat pulled a face and rolled her eyes as she said ‘Ewww.’ ‘I know, horrible isn’t it? Anyway she said she plans to watch an episode every afternoon till she catches up.’ She laughed, ‘She doesn’t want Dad to catch her watching because she thinks he would be shocked by all the sex in it. You know how hot the sex is, it is so steamy and just pushes all the right buttons, and it is just such a turn on ….’

They were just turning the corner of the corridor as she said this and she ran head long into Roland mid-sentence. All he had heard was something about hot, steamy sex pushing all the right buttons and his eye brows shot up. Pat, seeing the expression on his face thought that she had better offer some kind of explanation. ‘Good morning Roland, we were just talking about True Blood.’ ‘Good morning Pat, good morning Skye how are you?’ He didn’t seem to be phased by whatever he had heard even though Pat had a sneaking suspicion that there was a faint trace of a smile lurking at the corner of his lips. ‘Good morning Roland, how are you? I’m not late am I?’ Skye asked worriedly, seeing that he was already in and hoping like hell he had not heard anything that they had been discussing. ‘No, not at all. I was up a bit early and thought that I might as well get an early start.’ ‘I’ll see you later Pat,’ Skye said hastily as Roland turned and accompanied her into his office while Pat made her way over to her desk, looking back over her shoulder and giving Skye a wink. 

Once alone he asked her how she had slept and if she had a good night then, seeming to be little embarrassed by the personal nature of his questions, he got down to business going over the documents he had mentioned the previous night. They worked on for a few hours before he stretched a little and looked at his watch. ‘It’s nearly ten thirty, how about a break. Would you like to go and grab a coffee with me? Then when we come back perhaps you would like to run me through some of the proposals that you were talking about last night. I really want to take a look at them today. I don’t want to make any decisions on anything new until we have consulted with each other. I value your input. You have tremendous insight. Now, how about that coffee?’ 

‘Sure, could you give me a moment? I just need to …’ He nodded. ‘Yep sure, I need to too.’ They both got up and headed to the loo. Skye wanted to make sure that her hair looked okay and slap on some lipstick and Roland was actually busting to go so five minutes later they were both back looking a bit more relaxed. ‘We’re just going for a coffee if Nigel is looking for me,’ Roland said as they passed Pat at her desk. ‘Okay, I will tell him if he asks.’ She smiled and looked pleased. She was about to take a tea break too and had already arranged to meet Anna downstairs so this would should be interesting she thought. 

‘Dom makes a great coffee and Christine runs the place like no tomorrow. They do a great trade not just from everyone in our offices but from all around.’ Skye was leading the way through the atrium over to the coffee shop, weaving her way confidently through all the small tables and chairs surrounding the counter. ‘They do hot food to order too for lunches and have a really good selection of fast food and healthy options if you are interested. I don’t normally eat lunch, oh sorry I already told you that yesterday didn’t I?’ ‘That is going to have to change. You need to have breakfast and lunch. It’s important, it helps you to keep focus, even if you are watching your weight,’ he smiled and his eyes ran over her figure. He quickly went on, ‘Not that you need to one bit.’ He smiled flushing a little as he spoke. 

She couldn’t help herself and she flashed him a dazzling smile of pleasure at the compliment. He had been blown away when she had turned the corner this morning and he had first seen her. She looked sensational. The dress that she was wearing did nothing to hide her figure and it was a knock out. The way the fabric just seemed to hug her in all the right places was ticking all his boxes. She looked stunning. She was walking a little ahead of him now and he was totally admiring the view and smiling to himself. As she turned quickly to ask him what he would like she caught the look on his face and blushed. He averted his eyes but it was too late and he kicked himself until he saw the small smile on her face as she too looked away and he had to stop himself from grinning. 

Pat and Anna, who had broken all records to get to the coffee shop ahead of them, sat watching from a distance and saw the exchange. ‘Did you see that?’ Anna asked excitedly. ‘Uh huh, what did I tell you? Please don’t say anything to Skye but from the moment that I saw him looking over at Skye yesterday when we were in the break area, I just had the feeling that he likes her.’ Anna nodded. ‘I would kill to have someone like him eyeing my arse like he was just doing. He was totally liking what he was seeing, it was written all over his face. Do you think that she knows? What does she think of him? Does she fancy him then?’ Pat shrugged. ‘You know I don’t really know. Since talking about meeting him in the lift but then finding out who he was, she really hasn’t said that much about him other than about work and the job. I am hoping she will fill me in later.’ 

‘Hi Skye, the usual?’ Christine asked when she came to the counter to serve her. ‘Thanks Christine. This is Roland, he is new here and I want you to give him your usual wonderful service. He is my new boss.’ Christine quickly gave him the once over before drawing her eyes off his body and grinning as she teased, ‘Nice, very nice. Lucky you!’ They both went bright pink and the girls sitting over watching wondered what on earth had been said but Pat was determined to find out all details when she rang her tonight and grilled her. 

‘So what can I get you ravishing Roland?’ Christine purred at him. ‘Double macchiato please.’ He flashed her a smile and she giggled. ‘One weak cappuccino with sugar and one hot and strong macchiato, just like I like my men, hot and strong,’ she laughed. ‘Do you want me to bring them over to you?’ she asked hopefully as Roland stepped forward to pay. Skye rushed forward, ‘No Roland thanks but I’ve got it, I have a coffee card and have two free ones so it’s on me. Thanks Christine if you wouldn’t mind. Would you like anything with it?’ she asked looking up at him standing next to her. ‘Are you having anything?’ he asked glancing at the mountains of cupcakes, biscuits and muffins. ‘I don’t normally, I have a shocking sweet tooth and always feel like I am putting on pounds just standing looking at this lot so don’t tempt me,’ she laughed. ‘I know, I have a sweet tooth too. Are you sure that I can’t tempt you into something?’ he asked her innocently enough but had a small crease on his lips as he looked at her. ‘No and that’s final, well… no I will be strong, you can’t tempt me,’ she laughed but she dropped her eyes before glancing up at his mouth and looking away again. 

She couldn’t look at him when her mind was telling her something different but it had nothing to do with eating cakes.


	16. Chapter 16

‘You can tempt me any time you want to,’ Christine piped in and winked as Skye and Roland started walking over to a table near one of the water features. Much to Pat and Anna’s disgust it was not the table next to them but several tables away, too far away to hear them clearly without having to strain, and as much as they would have loved to have eavesdropped, it would have looked a little blatant to get up and move now so they had to be content with just watching the two of them from afar and trying very hard to make out their conversation. 

Roland, ever the gentleman pulled out a chair for Skye before sitting down next to her. From where the two friends were sitting it looked like the other pair was in deep conversation when Christine took their coffees over to them along with a small plate of complimentary macaroons. ‘Well I like that,’ Anna said to Pat miffed. ‘How long have we been coming here and never once had any freebies apart from our coffee card loyalty bonuses and here is the new boy copping a plateful of their delicious macs on his first time.’ Pat looked at her. ‘Well, do you blame Christine? Don’t tell me that you wouldn’t do exactly the same thing because I know you would.’ Anna shrugged. ‘That’s not the point. Anyway, if I was that close to him I would be giving him more than just a plate full of cakes,’ she smirked suggestively.

Pat rolled her eyes. ‘Shh, keep your voice down. I am trying to hear what they are saying.’ ‘You can’t hear them from here can you?’ ‘If you would shut up I might be able to. You can’t hear a thing and that is because you go to all those clubs with the music blaring. You are going to be deaf by the time you are forty.’ Anna laughed. ‘Yes I know but the fun that I am having right now makes it all worthwhile.’ Pat gave her a disapproving look before turning back as discreetly as she could to watch the other two’s interaction. 

‘This is a really nice building, it has a nice ambience,’ Roland was commenting as he sat looking around. ‘I love it. It really has a nice feel to it doesn’t it,’ Skye remarked with a mouthful of macaroon. ‘Hmm, you have to try one. These are just delicious.’ She was munching away while sipping her coffee as she offered the plate to him. ‘Can I tempt you?’ ‘Now who is tempting who? You can always tempt me,’ he declared softly, his hand brushing hers as he took one, quickly looking into her eyes before looking away slightly embarrassed by what he had just said but thrilled when he noticed her hand shake a little as she picked up her coffee again and began to sip it.

‘I…,’ ‘Do you…’ they both had spoken hurriedly at the same time. ‘Sorry what were you going to say?’ ‘Ladies first,’ he answered politely. ‘It was nothing really.’ ‘No, go on I am sorry I interrupted.’ ‘You didn’t, it really wasn’t anything honestly. What were you going to say?’ Now that they weren’t in his office and working, she felt the full force of his personality and was feeling a little overwhelmed. 

The first few hours had gone well, going over ideas that he had been mulling over and he had been really grateful for her input. A few times she had sort of set him straight on a couple of figures that she knew to be incorrect and he had been impressed by her knowledge but now with him sitting next to her, and in a different surrounding, she let her professional guard down and all she could think about was how the white of his shirt set off his tan and the blue silk tie he was wearing with his navy suit set the colour of his eyes off. He had that aftershave on too and she could smell his masculinity mixing with it. It was sending her hormones racing. 

He was fairing no better. It had taken all his concentration that morning to focus on work and now that they were sitting chatting, he was getting tongue tied. That was something new to him, he hadn’t felt like that since he had a crush on Laura Borg at high school. Hmm, he was thinking, she was blonde too and had blue eyes but Skye’s were more of an aquamarine and her hair was fairer than Laura’s. And she had the most beautiful smile that he had ever seen. She seemed to light up a room. Oh god, I have to stop this I am getting fanciful, he admonished himself as he desperately tried to think of something else to say. 

‘Do you come here often?’ He winced a little as he said it but he was curious to get to know a bit of her routine. ‘Oh, I was going to say that I come here all the time for a tea break with a couple of the girls and if you are a regular you get a loyalty card, you know, buy ten coffees and get one free. I normally save mine up for what I call a Friday Freebie,’ she laughed, ‘silly I know but it sort of feels like a great start to the weekend when I have a Friday Freebie to kick it off. God that sounds so really stupid when I think about it.’ 

He laughed a little. ‘No it doesn’t. Sometimes it is the really little things in life that give us the most pleasure. There was a little restaurant that we,’ he faltered for just one moment before correcting himself, ‘that I used to go to in LA and it served Italian, it was great. Everything was made fresh from locally grown organic produce, simply sensational. Well anyway, if you were a regular they would offer a special deal. You could get their sauces made up to take home with you so that you didn’t have to cook mid-week, it would be in the fridge waiting for you. They didn’t do it for everyone, just their loyal customers. It was great because every Wednesday I would get in and cook up a batch of pasta and out would come the sauce. It always felt special as it would mean that there was only Thursday and Friday to go then it would be Saturday night and I could go out to dinner again.’

‘I know that you haven’t been back long but do you miss it, miss LA?’ He looked thoughtful before answering. ‘I miss the weather and lord I miss the beach. I miss walking along the beach, the sound of the waves. And I miss surfing.’ She looked at him surprised, ‘You surf? I love the beach and I love surfing or should say love watching it. I was in Australia for a holiday visiting a friend and we spent days on the beach so I know what you mean, the sounds, the sun and the waves, the smell of sun tan lotion, hmmm… just stunning. It was the best thing that I have ever done. Have you ever been there? They say it is like California and if you like beaches and surfing you would love it to pieces. Is that how you got your gorgeous tan, was it at the beach?’ 

She bit her lip, she hadn’t meant to say that, it had just slipped out. ‘It’s already fading. It won’t take long before I am white as a ghost again and then you will be able to see all the freckles I have on my face standing out.’ He laughed. ‘Heh there is nothing wrong with freckles. I have freckles on my nose but you can’t see them under the make-up.’ ‘Hah see, you put make-up on to cover them up and hide them,’ he laughed ‘No I don’t. I wear make-up to make me look better,’ she stated as a matter of fact. ‘You don’t need to wear make-up. You look pretty sensational to me,’ he was saying quietly as his eyes ran over her face before he gently brushed a crumb of macaroon from the corner of her mouth.   
‘Holy shit, did you see that?’ Anna kicked Pat under the table to get her attention. ‘Ouch, what the hell Anna that hurt. And yes I saw it, I am not blind.’ ‘Oh god I think I would be swooning at his feet if he did that to me. God did you get a look at his hands... they give Bill Compton’s a run for their money and you know what I think of Bill’s, you know what I want Bill to be doing with…’ ‘For god’s sake Anna, keep it down will you. I am trying to hear what they are talking about. But well yes, I agree, he looks to me like he is smouldering at her,’ Pat observed. ‘He’s glamouring her,’ Anna corrected laughing.

At the touch of his finger Skye’s hand automatically moved up to her face to check that she didn’t have any more crumbs, lightly brushing his as she did so. ‘I am such a slob. How embarrassing,’ she murmured awkwardly. ‘I am too,’ he responded in an attempt to put her at her ease. ‘You know I once went for hours with a piece of parsley stuck on my tooth and no one bothered to tell me,’ he laughed. ‘I was at a club last summer and it was so hot dancing that all my eyeliner ran and it wasn’t until an hour later that I went to the loo and realised that I looked like a Panda,’ she giggled. 

They were both laughing about various anecdotes they had been talking about when Christine came over. ‘Is there anything else that I can get you two?’ Skye looked at her watch as Roland sighed a little. ‘No thanks, I suppose we had better be getting back to it. Nice meeting you Christine and tell Dom is it … that he makes a great cup of coffee? Oh and those macaroons, they are delicious. Thanks very much,’ he smiled. Christine basked in the compliment as she cleared the table and left them. 

‘Thanks for the coffee and the company Skye. We should make it a point of doing it every day that is if you want to?’ She nodded. ‘I’d like that Roland, I’d like that a lot.’


	17. Chapter 17

The days and weeks moved on quickly for Skye and Roland. On Skye’s part everything about her new role was fresh and it was exciting to be working with someone as dynamic as he was. He was not overly demanding of her, only expecting what he thought her to be capable of and nothing more. He had complete faith in her and as time went on her confidence, sorely run down by the likes of Sylvia, well it soared. 

The first week had flown by and when it came to Friday afternoon, normally a reason to celebrate, Skye found herself wishing that it was Monday already. She was so full of ideas and actually looked forward to getting up in the morning now and getting to work. Of course she told herself that it had nothing to do with working with Roland but she knew that she was only kidding herself. The first few days had some awkward moments, both of them fighting their attraction to each other. Both of them were desperately trying to keep things professional, neither one of them realising that their feelings, even at that point were mutual. But as each day went by, and they got to know each other and developed a working relationship, they both began to relax a bit more around each other. 

‘See you on Monday,’ Skye said as she was leaving at the end of that first week on the Friday afternoon. ‘I will have a bit of a play with those figures over the weekend and see what I can come up with,’ she mentioned as she reached for her bag and closed down her computer. ‘No Skye, don’t. I want you to totally relax. We can go over them together first thing on Monday morning, besides you are probably busy over the weekend?’ He said this more as a question than a statement, curiosity getting the better of him. She shook her head. ‘No really I’m not. I haven’t got anything on. I suppose that you are busy?’ She was just as curious, he had said very little to her if nothing of his current home life, where as she seemed to have opened up freely over their morning coffees and told him all about her Mum and Dad, her brother and sister and her friends.

‘Nope, I am not doing a thing really.’ He seemed to hesitate as though he was about to say something but then changed his mind. She sighed a little. ‘Well good night then,’ she smiled. ‘Good night Skye, have a good weekend.’ ‘You too Roland, see you on Monday.’ ‘See you on Monday Skye.’ She was half way to the lift when Roland hurried after her calling out to her. She turned to face him, her heart was pounding a little, it was the expression on his face, different to his normal countenance that set her off. She waited for him to draw level with her trying to keep calm. ‘Skye do you want to…’ she waited nearly holding her breath but he wavered. ‘Err… do you want to finish that proposal Monday morning then we can go over the staff suggestions that have come through on Monday afternoon,’ he finished lamely. 

She looked at him and tried to hide any disappointment that she may have felt. She had thought for a moment that he may have been going to ask her out or to go for a drink after work but she realised that she was wrong and kicked herself for being so conceited. Oh course he wouldn’t ask her out, why would he. ‘Sure, whatever would suit you. Good night then.’ She looked at him and he stared back at her for a moment. ‘Good night Skye. Have a good weekend.’ ‘You too,’ she replied and this time she turned and walked to the lift without any further interruptions.

Dam he thought to himself. He had been going to ask her to go for a drink but just didn’t have the nerve. Sod it, man up he told himself! He turned and ran after her to catch up with her but he reached the lift just as the doors closed. Well that was the end of that. He sighed frustrated. Mentally he was kicking himself. Why hadn’t he just asked her out? It would have been such a normal thing to do, end of the week, Friday night drinks at the pub or that little bar he had used to go to, the one with the piano player and the great atmosphere. He had always loved it there. Well maybe next week he thought as he headed back to the office to collect his laptop and head home. 

A sudden idea hit him and he grabbed his laptop and coat, it had been getting chilly and the days had been colder, and he hurried to the window looking out into the atrium just as she emerged from the lift. Roland was rather a practical person in most ways but for some reason that night he wanted to believe in something higher or some kind of metaphysical connection, so he stood there at the window looking down, willing her to look up. Just look back and up once and it will be like some kind of sign he kept thinking. He knew he was being ridiculous but for some unknown reason, right at that moment, it was really important to him. It was more important than anything else in his whole life. 

He stood there watching her walking through the central path, threading her way past the now closed coffee shop with its chairs resting up on the tables to allow the cleaners to move in and mop the floors. The fountain was stilled for the weekend maintenance crew to do some hasty repairs and all the other shops were closed. Late Friday afternoons was like a ghost town with most of the offices emptied for the weekend. He watched her small figure walking purposely towards the revolving exit door until just as he was about to give up, she turned as though something had tapped her on the shoulder suddenly and then, then she had looked up and seen him standing there. 

She gave a smile, a heartfelt smile and she waved. He broke out into a grin he was so relieved and waved back. She waved again and turned and was gone but it didn’t matter. Roland was walking on air as he strode to the lift. It didn’t matter now that he would be spending a rather lonely weekend by himself, he didn’t care. That smile had been enough to keep him happy until Monday and he couldn’t wait to see it again.

Skye had spent the whole of the bus ride home lost in a fog. All she could think about was that cheeky grin on his face as she looked up and waved. She felt like a fan girl and just wanted to let out a squee she was so elated. It must mean something. Surely he wouldn’t have been standing there looking down if he hadn’t been looking for her would he, she was questioning herself. I mean why would he be there when everyone had gone home. She was still mulling it over when she got home.

Friday nights were generally quiet at her home. Her Dad had lodge and Paul and Jen were off with their mates at the pictures or out at the local pub. Skye sometimes joined them but preferred to stay home if she was tired and her first week at her new job had worn her out so she had picked up some fish and chips on the way home for her and her Mum and they could have a quiet night in together catching up on Dexter and Breaking Bad. Besides, there was always the chance that she would run into Rod and he was a problem that she was putting off dealing with. She knew that she had to put an end to whatever it was that he thought they had between them but she was putting it off until tomorrow night when they had all planned to go to the local pub. Right now though, all she wanted was a quiet night in watching catch up TV and pigging out on comfort food with her Mum. 

They were both hooked on both series and as it was the final seasons for both shows they had been looking forward to it but when she got in she found her Mum in tears.


	18. Chapter 18

When Skye had gotten home she saw the light on in the kitchen and made her way down the hallway only to find her Mum sitting at the kitchen table sobbing. Skye rushed to her Mum’s side. ‘What is it, what has happened?’ she was asking as her Mum looked up. ‘Just tell me that he isn’t dead.’ Skye went white. ‘Who, who isn’t dead?’ she asked urgently. ‘It is just too cruel. And after all that he has been through. How could they do it to him? He has been so very brave and he is noble…’ Tears were pouring down her face. ‘Mum, Mum what is it, who are you talking about? What has happened?’ ‘He’s dead I saw it, right in front of my own eyes. He drank Lilith’s blood and turned into a pile of goo!’

Skye’s eyes lit up with understanding. ‘Our precious Bill, he gave up hope and it was the only thing left for him to believe in,’ her Mum whispered through her tears. Skye sighed with relief, she had been nearly scared witless by the state her Mum was in but now she understood. ‘Have you managed to watch all of the seasons this week and let me guess, you just watched episode twelve of season five?’ Her Mum nodded pitifully. ‘Oh Mum.’ Skye hugged her in a bear hug. ‘I know, it’s terrible isn’t it?’ ‘I wanted to catch up to where you were the other night because I didn’t really have a clue what was going on I was so…’ Skye laughed and interrupting her she took the words out of her Mum’s mouth. ‘You were so mesmerised by our beautiful Bill that you didn’t really take anything in. Have you really watched all of the other seasons?’ Her Mum nodded. ‘Don’t tell your Dad but I have been sitting here every day watching it non-stop,’ she said sheepishly as she dried her eyes and began setting the table.

‘Come on, let’s get dinner in the oven then if you really want me to tell you what happened in the first episode of season six I will but… I have a better idea. It is on catch up TV so why don’t we re watch it then we can do Breaking Bad and Dexter later?’ She hugged her again and then got the baking tray out and put the fish and chips into the oven. ‘Twenty minutes on high should do it.’ Her Mum nodded. ‘I really am such an idiot.’ Skye laughed again. ‘Don’t you remember how worried you were when I was so depressed about this time last year? You thought that it was work getting me down but I couldn’t tell you that it was because of Bill. Now you know. You should have seen Pat and Anna and I on our tea breaks. We were all in tears over it for weeks. I lost 3 kilos in that first week I was so upset but if you aren’t a Bill Tragic you just wouldn’t understand.’

‘A Bill Tragic? Is that what you call yourselves? That is what I am, yes, I am a Bill Tragic,’ she nodded thoughtfully. ‘Yes you see there are Bill Tragics and ELs,’ Skye told her going on to explain the fierce rivalry. ‘I don’t mind Eric. I hate what he did tricking Sookie. That is unforgiveable but he is what he is, to my mind at least and after all he is being true to his nature, a Viking and a vampire.’ ‘I know Mum that is how I see it too but you just don’t know the half of it,’ and over dinner Skye went on to explain how things were in the land of True Blood fandom. ‘But that’s appalling,’ her Mum was shocked. ‘I know. You actually should have seen the melt down over the last book ending.’ Her Mum looked surprised. ‘You know I hadn’t given it a thought but the show is based on the books isn’t it? I might have a bit of a read of them seeing as I am nearly up to date or will be after tonight.’ 

‘You are welcome to borrow mine but I have to warn you, the show isn’t like the books,’ Skye told her. ‘Bill and Sookie are in the books aren’t they?’ ‘Well yes but it is different, they…’ ‘No don’t tell me, let me read them then I will tell you what I think.’ ‘Well okay Mum but just remember that I warned you.’ 

After eating and doing the dishes they sat down in the family room and re watched the first episode that had screened earlier that week. ‘I don’t understand. I simply don’t understand.’ ‘What Mum?’ Skye asked after the closing credits had finished and she had started to bring up Breaking Bad on catch up TV. ‘I don’t understand what on earth is going on in Sookie’s head. The girl loved Bill one minute and said he is the unforgettable love of her life then she stakes him? He hadn’t done anything.’ She was shaking her head. Skye began to laugh. ‘You should talk to Anna and Pat about it, that was the same reaction that they had too. Are you ready for BB now?’

They settled down again and for the next hour or so were riveted by the episode. Skye’s Mum was just supressing a yawn and was about to ask her if she minded holding off on Dexter when Skye’s mobile rang. The ring tone blasted out Love to Love You Baby and Skye looked down at it in total astonishment. Dam it, Anna had been mucking around with her phone that morning when she had run into her going to the photo copier. Only she could be responsible for an old Donna Summer song on her phone. She looked down at the number and nearly did a double take. It was Roland.

‘Hello,’ she said a little shakily into the phone. ‘Hi Skye, its Roland. I hope that I am not disturbing you.’ ‘Roland can you give me second or could I phone you back in a minute or two, would that be okay?’ ‘Oh look I’m sorry Skye you are busy. I shouldn’t have called. I’ll see you on Monday.’ ‘No really it’s okay, just give me a minute.’ ‘No look it will keep. Sorry to have worried you. Have a good weekend. Bye.’ He hung up. 

‘Who was that love?’ her Mum asked curiously. ‘Mum would you mind if we watched Dex tomorrow? I need to make a call and you look tired.’ ‘You know I am a bit love and besides, us Bill Tragics need our sleep don’t we1``’ she laughed, ‘are you coming up?’ ‘I’ll be up in a minute, you go to bed and I will lock up. Dad and Paul and Jen won’t be home for a while so I will just make sure that everything is locked up and will turn off the lights. Night Mum, love you.’ ‘Love you too sweetheart and Skye, don’t talk for too long when you call your mystery guy back, you’ve had a long week so you must be tired.’ ‘He’s not my mystery guy, he’s …’ ‘I know that he isn’t Rod that is for sure.’ ‘How do you know that it isn’t?’ Skye asked curiously. ‘Because I have never seen the look on your face when you are around Rod that you got when you were talking to whoever it is. Whoever he is, he must be someone special to you. Have a good night sweetheart and do get some sleep.’

Skye hurriedly checked all the downstairs windows and the back door to make sure that everything was secure before going up to her bedroom and closing the door. She lay down on the bed and picking up her phone she looked up Roland’s number and dialled it. ‘Hello Skye,’ he answered immediately, his soft voice sending a shiver through her body as she lay on the bed picturing him. ‘I am so sorry to have disturbed you. Really you needn’t have put yourself out and called me back.’ ‘Really it’s no trouble, no trouble at all.’ She was thrilled that he sounded so happy to hear from her and she couldn’t get the image of him standing there looking down at her and waving. She couldn’t stop thinking about him full stop.

‘Skye, do you want to skype?’ She nearly dropped the phone in her excitement.


	19. Chapter 19

She was dressed in her comfy warm fluffy pyjamas, ones with bunnies on them in a hot pink, white and grey motif. They had been a gift from Anna and she adored them. Her hair was tied up in a messy bun on the top of her head with great strands falling out and she still had her make-up on from that morning so it was half down her face. She felt like she looked like a wreck. 

‘Sure, voice call or vid? The camera on my old laptop is a bit dodgy?’ she asked, hoping like hell that he would settle for voice call chatting. ‘Well I was going to show you something that I thought that you might be interested in.’ Now that it had come down to it Roland was wondering what the hell he was doing. 

He had gone home with a huge smile on his face, picking up a vindaloo on his way from a favourite curry shop, the one that he used to go to before moving to LA. He had changed in to his favourite grungy track pants and battered old Rolling Stones tee shirt, the outfit that Ros had always threatened to throw out. He poured himself a drink and grabbed his dinner. He didn’t really have any plans for that night. He was feeling a bit lost. 

On reflection the week had gone well, much better than he had anticipated and all that was despite the fact that Ros was gone. He hadn’t thought much about it, hadn’t really had time to and if he was being honest with himself, he had put it off. He had known it was over a long time ago and had gone on far too long, and apart from the place being a lot cleaner and a lot quieter on his own, he really had to admit that he wasn’t missing her anywhere near as much as most friends that knew them would have expected him to. That only went to show how little their relationship, really just a glorified friendship if he was being honest with himself really was, if it was ever more than that anyway, he pondered. 

Sitting there he finally admitted to himself that it had been a mistake regardless of how hard he had tried. And he did try, it was his nature to give everything that he did his all, but it was never a relationship in the true sense of the word. It had all been a sham to placate his father, her family and the social circle that they were members of at the time. When he thought about it he could count the number of times they had been intimate on his fingers in all the time that they were together. 

He had thought that he must have been inadequate as a lover, unappealing as a partner, unattractive as a man. He had never realised before that it was not him but that Ros had been the one that had not been honest with him, never giving any direct indication that she was anything other than what she had led him to believe. He was kicking himself now for his naiveté, for putting his trust in her. But his eyes had been opened now to her real self. Hell no wonder there had been times that he felt rejected, deficient and ineffectual, impotent to pleasure her the way that he had pictured a man would within the confines of a caring relationship. Sighing, he turned his mind to happier things, to Skye and that smile when she waved. 

He sat vaguely watching a movie for the next two hours but couldn’t focus. Slipping up to his desk and sitting down at his computer with the intention of surfing the net, he thought of maybe downloading some music but as his screen came up he sat staring at his background picture, a shot he had taken at sunset from his roof top in LA looking across the skyline down to the beach and an idea struck him. That was when he picked up the phone and called Skye but now he was feeling a little unsure of himself. What the hell was he doing, he’d just met this girl, only days ago and now he was working with her every day and still he felt compelled to ring her within hours of saying good night. He was embarrassing himself and she probably thought he was stalking her. 

‘Give me a moment Rolly, I will just login to my laptop. It takes a while so I will try not to be long.’ A shiver went through him when she called him Rolly. No one had called him that since he was a kid. It was his Grans pet name for him and he had adored her. He was thrilled when he heard her say it. He wanted her to say it again, he loved it. ‘Rolly I won’t be long it’s just that it is so old it takes ages. I keep meaning to get a new one but I just don’t have the …’ she had been going to say money but now that she was getting such a decent salary that would be no object. ‘Okay I am ready and logged in to skype, what’s your name?’ 

When he told her she laughed out loud. ‘Are you serious?’ He laughed too. ‘Yes and don’t you go telling anyone. It is my own personal account name and I don’t give it anyone but my family, well my Mum and my sister really. So please no passing it around the office.’ She was still giggling. ‘Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me,’ she laughed, ‘this is mine,’ she went on and she told him. ‘You are kidding?’ ‘No I am not and only my close friends know it so the same goes for you, no passing it on.’ ‘Hang on I have just logged in are you ready?’ ‘Yes sure, do you want to call?’ ‘Okay Skye, calling you now.’ 

While waiting for the lap top to come up she had hastily grabbed it and jumped into the bed so that she could nurse it on her legs as she talked. Besides, she didn’t want him seeing the state of her room as she had been that busy all week it looked like her, a total disaster. So there she was lying on her bed waiting as the call came through, her mouth a little open and breathing a bit hard with excitement when he flashed onto her screen. 

‘Hi,’ she said a little shyly now that he was there in front of her. ‘Hi,’ he grinned back at her like a school boy, he had suddenly gone shy and was tongue tied, staring into the screen taking in her tousled hair and bunny pyjamas. ‘Oh lord Skye, you’re in bed. I shouldn’t have called.’ He was so embarrassed now but at the same time he couldn’t take his eyes off her. She looked deliciously cute all mussed up and casual. ‘No, please it’s okay honestly. I really wasn’t doing anything. I had just been watching a bit of TV with my Mum and was thinking of coming up to bed to read. It’s no big deal really.’ ‘Are you sure? This can wait. It’s only that you were asking about LA the other day and I have some footage of the beach and the file is too big to send so I thought that if you are interested I could put it on and share screens with you and you could watch it.’ 

‘Oh Rolly that is so kind of you, that would be awesome,’ she said genuinely touched. ‘I love it when you call me Rolly,’ he blurted out. Her face flushed pink and he couldn’t help but notice it. ‘I … I am sorry I shouldn’t ….’ ‘Don’t be sorry. I really love it. No one has called me that since my Grandmother and I adored her so I would really love it if you called me that. It just reminds me of happy times.’ ‘Did you love her very much?’ He nodded. ‘She really believed in me. I guess that I was her pet and she rather spoiled me,’ he reflected. ‘I can understand that, I can understand why she would.’ Her face went a deeper shade of pink as soon as the words were out of her mouth. They had just slipped out, but it was the truth she was thinking.

He looked into her eyes when she said it. He opened his mouth to say something and hesitated. ‘Skye?’ ‘Yes,’ she breathed. They were staring at each other, neither saying a word. He swallowed. ‘I… do you want to share screens and I will show you that vid?’ he asked weakly. ‘Sure, that would be great. ‘Rolly before we do, I am sorry I didn’t mean to embarrass you.’ ‘You didn’t, trust me. I am flattered Skye, I really am. It has been a long time since someone has said anything that nice to me I can assure you.’

She was a little taken aback by this. ‘But surely a guy like you…’ ‘A guy like me what?’ He wasn’t fishing for compliments; he honestly wanted to know what she thought of him. It had been a while since he was single so that now he was clueless and besides, Ros had so severely bruised his ego for so long that he was terribly insecure about his masculinity. He had no idea how very attractive and coveted he was.

‘Well, you are so intelligent and kind and you are wonderful to work with. I mean I don’t know you that well but I feel like I have known you all my life. You make everyone feel good and …’ He interrupted her. ‘Do you like being around me Skye? Do I make you feel good?’ He asked almost urgently, the timbre of his voice rolling over her. ‘Yes,’ she replied huskily, ‘this is the best week of my life up to now and it is all your doing. It is the first time in a long time that I have actually felt like I am worthwhile and felt good about myself. And I can’t wait to get up each day to come to work to see you… I mean to, well you know what I mean.’

‘I do know what you mean. My whole life changed this week and I am not just saying it, it really did. Meeting you the other night was like a catalyst. It was something that I needed.’ 

‘I need you in my life Skye, you have bought me back to life.’


	20. Chapter 20

‘I need you in my life Skye, you have bought me back to life.’ The words spun around in Skye’s mind, her heart pounding like a drum. It must be a dream. He couldn’t have said that. She must have misheard him. It was something that she had heard before, something that she had thought one of the most romantic and touching moments that she had ever seen and now, here was this beautiful man, this wonderful gorgeous man, saying it to her just as she had hoped and imagined since her passion had been stirred when watching a British actor play a one hundred and seventy odd year old Southern vampire. No, things like this just didn’t happen to her, not to her, nor to anyone that she knew. She was just being fanciful and had mistaken what he said for what she wanted to hear him say. 

‘How about I show you that vid now?’ Roland asked hastily after his sudden outburst, feeling embarrassed and awkward at his confession, ‘are you ready?’ She nodded silently, unable to speak as he prepared to share screens with her. ‘This is the beach that I used to surf on whenever I could,’ he hurriedly said afraid that his outburst had been totally inappropriate and he had said far too much and would scare her off. 

The vision was of a surf beach with waves crashing in at dusk. ‘Oh and that is where I used to shop, the local strip.’ He went on giving her a guided tour of his neighbour as it was when he lived there. ‘That’s the Santa Monica pier and down that way is Muscle Beach. Have you heard of it then?’ Skye was surprised and excited. ‘Rolly, where about did you live, I mean what suburb?’ she asked him. ‘Oh I thought that I told you. I was living in Venice Beach.’ ‘You lived in Venice Beach?’ ‘Yes sure, why?’ ‘Oh nothing, it’s just that I have a couple of friends who would be very interested in that. Umm, did you ever see any like movie stars or anyone?’ 

She waited patiently for him to answer. ‘Funny you should say that as I did have some neighbours who were relatively famous. Nice bloke and so was his missus. He was from here and she was well not from around there. It’s surprising though how laid back it is around where I was. You could actually walk down the street and run into people that you see on TV and think nothing of it.’ ‘You sound like you miss it. Would you ever go back?’ He thought about it for a moment taking his time before answering. ‘No probably not.’ ‘But you sound like you really liked it there, liked the lifestyle and everything?’ ‘I enjoyed the challenge and the opportunity that the job gave me but I wouldn’t want to go back there on my own. What about you? You mentioned that you went to Australia for a holiday, would you go back?’ ‘Oh hell yes, in a heartbeat. It is beautiful and if you like beaches, which you obviously do, you would think that you have died and gone to heaven,’ she told him enthusiastically.

‘I’ve actually always wanted to go there. And no, I don’t watch Neighbours and never have but I do love cricket and have always wanted to go to the MCG and see a test match and a one dayer, plus I would love to go to the Melbourne Grand Prix and surf Bells Beach,’ he laughed at himself, ‘even though it would probably terrify me and I would end up drowning.’ ‘I love formula one and I have been to Bells Beach. It was nowhere near as big as I thought it would be but the waves were awesome. It’s down the coast. Then if you go further along you drive down this road called the Great Ocean Road and it is simply stunning. You end up in this little place where there is a waterfall not far away and fern gullies with tree ferns and it is so green and fresh and clean.’ Her eyes were shining as she spoke about it. ‘You sound like you love the place.’ ‘Rolly it was wonderful but there was just so much to see and I didn’t have anywhere near enough time.’

‘I’d like to do more travelling too. Maybe see Australia and I have always wanted to go to Egypt. See the history, drink in the ancients and all that it has to offer and I have always fancied going to Morocco.’ She laughed. ‘You are kidding me, I have always wanted to go to Egypt too and to Morocco. I can’t believe that you do too.’ ‘Guess we have a few things more than just work in common,’ he smiled. ‘I guess we do,’ she said as she attempted to smother a yawn. ‘You’re getting tired. I should let you go. Hell,’ he exclaimed, ‘it’s after one o’clock. We’ve been talking for hours. I thought it was only around eleven.’ It was his turn to start yawning now. 

‘Oh now, see what I have done. We are both going to have an attack of the yawns now,’ and even as she spoke she yawned again. ‘I see what you mean,’ he laughed trying very hard not to do it again. ‘I am so sorry that I have kept you up this late Skye. I had no intentions of doing so but the time has just flown. I really enjoyed talking with you.’ ‘I loved talking with you too Rolly.’ She looked into the screen at him and he smiled again. ‘Well I will see you on Monday then. You have a good weekend.’ ‘You too. Call me any time you want to,’ she said sounding welcoming. ‘Thanks Skye. Goodnight now. Sweet dreams.’ ‘Night Rolly have a great weekend. You too.’ ‘Night,’ he said again. ‘Night,’ she said giving a little wave of her hand and then at the last minute she brushed her lips to her fingers and threw a mock kiss to him before hanging up. 

She chastised herself for doing it the minute the screen had gone blank and she had hit the quit button on skype but if she had seen the reaction it had caused, the huge grin on his face, she would have been over the moon. As it was after turning off her laptop she crawled into bed and turned out the light and laid there hugging herself. She fell asleep thinking of what it would be like to walk along a warm moonlit beach at night with him, his arm around her and pulling her in to kiss that beautiful mouth.

He was having very similar thoughts as he lay awake unable to sleep for thinking about her, wondering what it would be like to hold her in his arms and feel her silky hair falling over his face as he caressed her tenderly. When sleep finally took him the last thing that he thought of was the taste of her lips on his and he couldn’t wait to experience it. 

The rest of the weekend was uneventful with two exceptions for Skye, one of which would have long reaching repercussions that she never would have imagined. She had slept in and didn’t get up until after nine and was just enjoying a lazy breakfast when the doorbell went. ‘I’ll get it,’ Jen her younger sister screamed out from the front room. A few moments later she appeared in the kitchen where Skye was sitting drinking a coffee and eating a lavishly buttered piece of toast with Marmite. She was carrying a large box and trying to read the label. ‘It’s for you,’ she said looking at Skye as she plonked it down on the bench. 

‘For me?’ Skye queried. ‘But I haven’t ordered anything. ‘Is there anything with it?’ Jen looked on the box and tore off an envelope, handing it to her sister, both of them full of curiosity. She ripped open the envelope and read the short message on plain note paper. ‘Keep in touch,’ was all it said. She was frowning, what the hell? ‘Well what is it and who’s it from?’ Jen was asking. ‘Aren’t you going to open it?’ ‘Hand me the scissors will you, I don’t want to break my nails?’ she pointed to the kitchen bench. Taking them, she was just in the process of cutting through the layers of tape around the box when her Mum came in carrying some shopping with her Dad bringing up the rear with yet more groceries. 

‘What’s all this then love?’ her Dad asked. ‘I haven’t got the foggiest,’ Skye replied truthfully, just as miffed as to the contents as the rest of them were. At that moment she finally got the wrapping packaging off and could read the printing on the box. ‘Oh my stars.’ She stood there looking at the box and shaking her head. ‘What is it?’ her Mum and Dad came over to stand next to her and look at what she was staring at. ‘It’s a new laptop,’ Jen said, ‘but if you didn’t order it then where did it come from. Who was the note from Skye?’ ‘Oh umm, my new boss must have organised it and forgotten to tell me,’ she had to cover the thrill that she was experiencing. She had to think of something that wouldn’t arise anyone’s suspicions and that was the best she could do at the time and anyway, it was the truth in a way. The minute that she had seen the branded label on the box it made sense. “Keep in contact” was Roland’s message to her. She couldn’t believe that he had done this. He must have been up at the crack of dawn to get this ordered and delivered to her so early. 

‘Well young lady,’ her Dad was saying, even at her age he still called her young lady, ‘he certainly must hold you in high esteem to have done such a thing and rightly so. I hope that he appreciates you and doesn’t expect you to work the whole weekend and at night when you should be resting that’s all I can say.’ ‘Oh Dad, it’s nothing like that. It’s just that he knew that my old laptop is about to die and he was so kind to do this for me. It is just so generous. He is so generous and he is being thoughtful too, he knew how slow my old one is.’ ‘Well it’s no more than you deserve is all I am saying. Well done lass.’ He hugged her. ‘Thanks Dad. Would you mind if I just go up to my room? I need to set it all up and it will take me hours.’ Her Dad hugged her again. ‘You go do what you have to do, I won’t interfere. Your brother and I were going out to the football soon anyway; we are playing away so we best get going soon. We’ll be back for dinner Mother, and the kids are all off to the pub tonight so we will be back in plenty of time.’

Skye took her new laptop up to her bedroom carefully reading the instruction manual before doing anything else. Jen had followed her up and was sitting on the bed reading a magazine while Skye got familiar with the way her gift worked. ‘You know Skye, does the lap top belong to work and is just on lone or has your new boss got the hots for you?’ She said it innocently enough but Skye went crimson. ‘Oh so that’s it is it? He fancies you does he?’ Jen stirred her. ‘He doesn’t, it’s not like that Jen. Now out, I am trying to concentrate.’ She was rather annoyed at her sister because deep down it was the same feeling that Skye had and it made her dizzy to think about. 

No one had ever done anything so generous for her in her whole life and she was stunned.


	21. Chapter 21

As soon as the door was closed and she was on her own she grabbed her phone and sent Roland a text:

"Rolly I don’t know what to say except thank you. That is so generous of you. I am over the moon and deeply touched. Skye." 

Within two minutes her message alert flashed. Opening it there was an email address in the text. She laughed as she saw it and recognised it as being similar to the skype address he used. Quickly bringing up her email on her new lap top, it was the first thing that she set up, she typed away for some minutes before hitting send. She was in the middle of setting up and transferring her music from her old computer to the new one when her email alert went off. 

"Heh there,’ it read, ‘I am so glad that it arrived and I can see you have it up and running or don’t you? Are you still on the old one? Well no matter, you have it now and it was my pleasure to be able to do it. Oh and in a way I was being selfish Skye. I only did it so that you would have a better and clearer camera for when we skype. I want to see your pretty face and your old pc just doesn’t cut it for me. Cheers Rolly."

Skye nearly had a heart attack. She couldn’t believe he had said that. Her hands were shaking when she hit the respond button. She clicked on the emoticons box and hit the little embarrassed smiley then began to type but she was all thumbs and had to keep going back and correcting her spelling until finally she had a response she was happy with. 

When Roland’s alert sounded he opened her email, read it and groaned out loud, rolling his eyes and muttering “give me strength you gorgeous girl” to himself. Her email read: 

"Rolly the feeling is mutual. I am looking forward to seeing more of you too, there is nothing that I would like more than that."   
And at that point she had inserted another embarrassed smiley.   
"You said last night that you needed me in your life and that this week had changed your life, well I need you in my life too. I have just begun to live since I met you, you haven’t bought me back to life, you have given me a life. Skye."

He shot back a response instantly.   
"That is how I feel too Skye. I began to live for the first time in my life when I met you. As crazy as it sounds I feel like I have known you for years just like you said last night. Rolly."

She responded:   
"I know. It seems really weird. I mean that well, we just met but I have never felt like this before. It’s crazy isn’t it? I can talk to you about things that to anyone else would seem totally off the wall. You make me feel like I make sense and am not some crazy loony woman when I get talking about work and other things." 

She hit the send button just as her Mum knocked on her door. ‘Skye you mentioned those books last night, I don’t suppose that you have one handy do you?’ ‘Come in Mum. They are over there on the book shelf. See the ones next to my photography book. There are thirteen in the set. Help yourself to them.’ ‘Thanks love. With everyone out of the house I thought that I would just start the first one before I get dinner on. How’s the new computer going love?’ Skye’s email alert went off again. ‘It’s wonderful Mum. It is so much quicker than my old one.’ She smiled at her.

‘Don’t forget to be ready to go out with Jen and Paul, you know how annoyed he gets when he gets held up.’ Skye frowned when she looked at the time. Hell she would be running late now. She hadn’t realised that it was getting on for nearly five. ‘Will do Mum. Enjoy the books or well that is, I hope that you find them interesting.’ Once her Mum had left she quickly sent Anna and Pat texts. She needed back up for tonight and she knew that Anna was going to be at the pub for a short while before going on to a club and Pat had said that she and Andrew were going to be there but hadn’t said what time. She hurriedly texted both of them begging them to come before responding to Roland’s last email and then she grabbed a quick shower.

He had flicked back an email to her in response to her last one.   
"Skye you are not a loony woman and you make so much more sense than the majority of people that I have worked. Never run yourself down again like that. You deserve better than that. Rolly."

She flicked back,   
"I am sorry I can’t help it, I guess it is force of habit. Rolly I am terribly sorry but I have to go. I will try to email again a bit later but if I can’t I will have my phone on so I can text if you want to. I can’t thank you enough again for the lap top. I won’t forget your kindness to me." 

When Skye got out of the shower she found another email from Rolly waiting for her.   
"You don’t need to thank me really. It was my pleasure and I am looking forward to seeing you use it. Have a good night, whatever you are doing." 

Oh god, she thought, if he knew what she had to do tonight he wouldn’t be saying that. She had put it off long enough. She had to confront Rod. All week she had ignored his texts until Thursday night when he had sent one after another to the point that it drove her crazy so she had messaged back that she would be at the pub on Saturday night. This really had to stop but she had the feeling that was going to be easier said than done. 

She slapped on her new jeans, stopping just long enough to admire the view of them in her mirror before running downstairs to join the rest of the family for dinner. ‘It’s about time,’ Paul chided her. ‘I thought that you were going to be late and you know that the new band is starting their gig at eight. I want to get there in time to get drinks in before it gets too crowded and we can’t get a decent table up the front.’ ‘I’m not late. I am here aren’t I and as soon as I help Mum with the dishes I am ready to go.’ ‘Don’t worry about giving me a hand with the dishes Skye, your Father can help me for once, can’t you love?’ ‘Yes, sure Mother, let them go out and have fun. You work hard enough all of you and Skye, you have been up there in your bedroom all day working, it’s about time you went out and had some fun.’

She felt a little guilty about this last remark and couldn’t let them think that she was slaving away. ‘Dad I was just setting up the new lap top, it wasn’t really work.’ ‘But you use it for work so that is the same thing and your boss sent it over for you so it must be important otherwise why would he go to all that trouble and expense then Skye.’ She was about to reply and thought the better of it, she couldn’t really tell them why, she didn’t really even want to admit it to herself because she was still pinching herself so she remained silent. ‘Are you alright Skye?’ her Mum looked over at her. ‘You’re not coming down with something are you, you look very flushed and your eyes are bright?’

‘I’m fine Mum honestly. Just a bit tired that’s all.’ ‘Well come on you lot,’ Paul said as he pushed his chair back and stood up to leave, ‘let’s get going.’ ‘Have a good night,’ their Mum called out from the kitchen as their Dad walked them out. ‘Don’t drink too much and who is the designated driver tonight then?’ he asked. ‘I am Dad,’ Skye answered, ‘so you don’t have to worry, you know that I don’t drink when I am driving, not even a drop. You know how even one drink goes straight to my head.’ ‘Be careful you lot,’ he called out as they piled into the car. ‘And ring if you are going to be late so we won’t worry.’ ‘We will,’ Jen said out of the window as they drove off. 

Twenty minutes later, after driving around the block looking for a parking spot, they joined the small line that was already forming to get into The Prancing Pony. They had spotted Pat and Andrew waiting already and passed Anna making her way down the street from the other corner, and much to Skye’s annoyance, she had spotted Rod standing with Pat. 

It was going to be a very long night she suddenly thought.


	22. Chapter 22

‘Where have you been all week?’ Rod demanded to know the minute that Skye, Jen and Paul walked up to join the others. ‘Hi Pat, hi Andrew. Hello Rod, how are you, nice to see you too?’ Rod shot her a foul look. ‘Would you mind keeping your voice down and could we please discuss this later? And anyway,’ she replied as calmly as she could, ‘I don’t really owe you an explanation Rod. I have told you before,’ she lowered her voice so that she hoped she would not be making a scene, ‘we are just friends.’ She was defiant. Her newly found confidence from the events this week gave her extra courage right now and she was not going to put up with Rod’s unrequited possessiveness any longer. Enough was enough. He was seething. Pat gave Andrew a nudge and gallantly he stepped in between the two of them much to Skye’s relief. ‘Ok, it will keep till later but you are not leaving until we do.’ 

‘Are you okay?’ Pat asked her. Skye nodded but didn’t say anything as right at that moment her phone rang. She flipped it open and found a message from Roland. He had sent a funny little pic, one of those cartoons that were popular where there is an old fashioned pen and ink drawing and you can put your own text in. This one was an image of a native in a grass skirt carrying a huge drum, the caption reading ~ the first and original mobile phone. For some reason she found it hilariously funny and she started to giggle as she texted him back. She immediately felt better. She wasn’t going to let Rod get to her and wreck what had so far been an incredibly great weekend. 

‘Pat can you do me a favour?’ she asked pulling her aside a little from the line. ‘Sure what is it?’ ‘Could you take my photo please?’ she asked handing her the phone. ‘Okay but what…?’ ‘Never mind I will fill you in later.’ She didn’t want anyone to overhear them or see what she was doing, particularly not Rod. He was acting so domineering and he had no right to be. Pat said no more but was mystified however she knew better than to ask more questions and did as Skye asked.

Taking the phone back off her Skye then sent the snap to Roland with a text message simply saying: At the pub. Thanks for your text, it made me laugh. She was smiling straight into the camera and when Roland opened it he was gobsmacked. She looked brilliant. They stepped back into line and as they did her phone went again. You look amazing, really hot and I am not talking about the temperature either ~ Rolly. She beamed when she read it. She quickly messaged back: Oh Rolly … you charmer LOL. ‘Heh, what’s going on?’ Pat asked trying to see who she was texting so much from over her shoulder. Skye quickly snapped shut her phone. ‘Nothing, nothing’s going on,’ she hissed at Pat, her eyes going in the direction of Rod. ‘Oh look, there’s Anna just coming along,’ she said, changing the topic. 

They were finally inside the pub and quietly sipping on drinks, just an orange juice for Skye as she was driving, when Rod appeared next to her, pulling up a seat and squeezing in between her and Pat. Skye knew that she was in for it by the look on his face. ‘So is now a good time?’ he asked, all attitude and surly, ‘or do you want to ignore me some more like you have all week?’ She took a deep breath and turned to him to respond as reasonably as she could. ‘Look Rod, I thought that you understood that we are friends. We aren’t girlfriend and boyfriend, we are just friends. If you really cared about me you would know that I started a new job this week and you would know how important that is for me. After knowing me for as long as you have I would have thought that you would know what this means to me and how hard I have worked to get where I am now because before this week I was always overlooked. You know that so you should know how much this means to me and just how much hard work I have put into it all.’ 

‘You and your ambition Skye, where has it ever gotten you?’ he snapped, ‘you just work in an office, it’s no big deal, you are no different to anyone else doing the daily grind. So what, big deal if you got some new job, what does it matter, you won’t get anywhere with it? It’s just a job for fucks sake.’ She looked at him again, appraising him with cold eyes. What a difference between Rod and Roland she was thinking. Rod without an ambitious bone in his body, content to just plod along whereas there was Roland taking life and living it, never wasting an opportunity. 

‘See Rod that is the difference between us, between you and me. You don’t understand. I am not ambitious, I just want to do the best that I can and feel like I am making a difference to whatever it is that I am doing. I don’t want to just go and do something, get paid for it, and go home and just walk through life. I want to live it and I don’t think that you understand that. I want to travel and see the world, I want to make things happen. I understand how you feel and if that is your thing then that is great, it makes you happy but it isn’t mine. Can’t you just accept that, can’t we just be friends?’

He snorted. ‘I understand alright. I understand that you think that you are too good for me, that I am beneath you and your precious job. You have always looked down on me haven’t you?’ He was starting to get louder now and heads were beginning to turn and even though the music from the band was pumping, he could still be heard. ‘Look it’s not like that Rod. We just want different things from life.’ ‘Well I want you Skye,’ he snarled, knocking over her drink as he grabbed her wrist and twisted it as if to get his point across. ‘Oww let go, you are hurting me.’ Andrew, who was sitting on the other side of Pat, jumped up and so did Paul, both of them coming to her rescue. ‘Knock it off Rod, you heard her, you are hurting her,’ Paul warned. ‘Come on mate, there’s no need for that,’ Andrew chimed in. 

‘I thought that you were on my side Paul?’ he sneered. ‘It’s not a matter of sides Rod, you heard what Skye said, we all did, she just wants to be friends. Come on, we have all been friends for a long time, don’t do this mate, let it go.’ ‘Fuck you Paul, and fuck you too Skye. You’ll be sorry, you’ll see.’ By this time he was causing quite a scene and the barman watching from behind the counter called the two bouncers that were normally on the door. They came burling over just as Rod made this last remark. ‘Come on mate, you heard your mates, let’s go,’ and before Rod knew what was happening they had an arm each and were escorting him out of the pub. 

‘Are you alright?’ Pat was asking. ‘Did he hurt you? I am so sorry Skye, I never thought that he could be such an arse,’ Paul was apologising. She was his sister and he felt dreadful. Rod had been his friend and he felt responsible. ‘It’s okay, I am okay,’ she said, feeling her arm gingerly. ‘Come on,’ Pat stood up, ‘we need to run your arm under some cold water or you are going to have a nasty bruise coming out tomorrow.’ Skye let herself be led to the loo where she inspected the damage. Pat was right, there were ugly welts where Rod’s rough mechanics hands had squeezed and wrung her soft flesh giving her what kids you would call a Chinese burn. ‘Run it under the cold water, that should take the sting out,’ Pat advised, ‘then let’s get you a drink, one won’t hurt and I think that you need it.’

‘Is Rod right Pat, do you think that I am up myself? I mean, well I never led him on. I thought that we were friends but nothing more and I told him that over and over again.’ She was so sensitive, the kind of person that never wanted to hurt anyone but Rod had to see reason and now she was feeling dreadful, full of self-doubt and worried that he was right. Pat shook her head. ‘Don’t do this Skye, you don’t deserve this. Not once when I have seen you out have I ever thought that you were in a relationship with him. If anything I always thought that you were being overly kind to him, almost like a sister to him. Why I remember you even tried to hook him up with Pam, remember her?’ she asked, ‘from the pay roll office, she left and went to McGregor’s to work and ended up marrying that butcher from down on the High Street Road.’

Pat paused and drew breath. ‘She told me that she had really been into him but he only took her out a couple of times and then nothing. He told her he wanted something better. What a cheek. Seems to me that he wants it both ways, he’s the kind of guy that wants a woman to look a million dollars but expects her to be barefoot and pregnant and tied to him, at his beck and call. Skye you could do so much better than him and you know it. Don’t doubt yourself just because of Rod. What does he know? Like you said, if he is happy with his life then why shouldn’t he let you be happy with yours? And you are happy aren’t you?’

Skye smiled shyly and nodded. ‘I can honestly say Pat that right now, after this week, I am happy or I think that I am happy. This week has been incredible and I just feel so lucky. I just feel like my luck has turned.’


	23. Chapter 23

‘Okay, I have waited long enough, what’s with the taking the picture and who were you sending it to?’ ‘Oh hell!’ Skye exclaimed and fished in her bag for her phone. She hadn’t checked her messages for a couple of hours and was wondering if Roland had been texting her. She didn’t expect him to but she was hoping. She flipped her phone open and she had two messages, both from him. The first one was in response to her earlier one where she had said that he was a charmer; ‘I hope that you know I was being sincere! LOL. I really did mean it,’ he had written. The second one was from about forty minutes ago and simply said, ‘Enjoy your night Skye, let your hair down, it’s such beautiful hair too. Will be on skype later if you are interested?’ She was smiling with pleasure as she read them. 

‘Skye,’ Pat said trying to get her attention, ‘come on, what is going on?’ Putting her phone back in her bag she just smiled. ‘Nothing, honestly nothing is going on. Really Pat, it’s…..’ she hesitated then shook her head, ‘it’s nothing.’ ‘Well okay if you say so but I tell you now, I don’t believe you, I know that there is something going on with you so whenever you are ready and you want to share, I will be here. Now, how about that drink, are you ready?’ Skye nodded, her arm was ok now and looked like it wouldn’t bruise but she changed her mind about having a drink. She didn’t want to let anything affect her for later in the night. If she got home at a reasonable hour she intended to do a bit of skyping and she wanted a clear head.

Because of the run in with Rod no one was in the mood really to hang around and after the others had a quite drink out in the lounge they all decided to call it a night. Anna had already left to meet some other friends at a club and by the time that they had all said their goodbyes it was getting on for around eleven thirty. Paul and Jen harped on at Skye in the car on the way home saying that Rod should have known better and not to let it get to her. Paul apologised again despite Skye assuring him that he had nothing to be sorry about but really apart from being mollified to have been the centre of a scene in public, Skye’s thoughts weren’t lingering on Rod, she had other things on her mind. 

When they got home the other two decided to raid the fridge for a midnight snack of bacon butties but Skye pleaded a headache and went up to her room. The minute she was in she turned on her lap top and logged into skype. She was all fingers and thumbs typing in her login, wondering if he would be there and she held her breath until her contact list came up and there he was, he was online. Should she message him or should she just vid call? She debated it for a few moments then thought to hell with it and hit the video call button with her heart pounding. She waited for what seemed an eternity when suddenly there he was in front of her. 

His hair was all tousled and he looked a little sleepy but his grin reassured her when he saw her face. ‘Hello there, I wasn’t sure if you got my message. Sorry I took so long to answer I…’ he laughed, ‘I fell asleep watching an old movie. How was your night? Did you have a good time? What was the band like?’ ‘Rolly I shouldn’t have called. I feel really bad now, I woke you up,’ she frowned. ‘Heh no, don’t feel bad. I loved being woken up by you. I …’ he didn’t think that he should go on, he had been about to say that he would love to be woken up by her everyday but thought the better of it. ‘It’s okay; I was up early and guess I needed a bit of a nap. No harm done. I normally stay up quite late at the weekends anyway.’ ‘Are you sure?’ He smiled reassuringly before answering. ‘I am sure Skye. So how was your night? Tell me all about it. Who was the band, anyone I know?’ 

‘They are just a local up and coming group, they’re called Drive Shaft and they are really cool. A bit grungy but they have this one song that is awesome. I think that it could be a hit for them one day.’ He looked surprised. ‘You like grunge do you?’ ‘Well not particularly, but I do like Drive Shaft and this one song of theirs is really catchy, what kind of music are you into?’ 

Even though it was late they talked for the next couple of hours about music and reading, their favourite books and authors, discovering that they had both had similar tastes in just about everything that they were interested in. They had been to the same movies, liked the same actors, admired the same public figures, in short – there wasn’t much that they disagreed about except football teams, Roland being a mad West Ham supporter and Skye following Wigan. She had a cousin up north that had converted her from Arsenal.

When Skye gave a massive yawn that was infectious, and Roland started yawning too, they both were amazed when they saw the time and realised that it was after three in the morning. ‘Oh god Rolly I am so sorry, you were so tired and I have kept you up this late.’ ‘No I feel bad that I have kept you up this late. You must be so tired. Can you get to bed and sleep in tomorrow?’ ‘Sure, I could sleep like a log for hours. I promise I will sleep in and laze around. How about you, will you sleep in too?’ He nodded. ‘That’s the plan but I do have a few things that I have to do tomorrow, I …’ he hesitated, the place was a mess.

Ros had been by while he was out that morning organising the laptop for Skye and when he got home he found things in a shambles. Not only had she left a mess but she had taken nearly all the bed linen and towels and on top of that he had received a call from his sister inviting herself to come and stay with him while she was in town so he really had his hands full getting things ready. ‘ I have some shopping to do so I will be going out but that will be later, I really do intend to have a sleep in then tuck into some bacon and eggs, mushrooms, beans and toast followed by some freshly squeezed orange juice, I love my Sunday breakfasts, nice and lazy and relaxed.’ She smiled. ‘That sounds delicious. Do you like fried or scrambled eggs?’ ‘Scrambled, what do you prefer?’ ‘Scrambled too,’ she replied grinning. ‘Well I will have to make you one of my whacking great breakfasts one day and you will see that I make the best scrambled eggs in the world.’ 

‘I would love that,’ she smiled shyly. They both went silent. The thought of having breakfast with each other suddenly conjured up other thoughts, thoughts of spending the night together, to wake in the morning in each other’s arms then to make breakfast together. It would be heavenly Skye was thinking just as Roland was thinking how much he would like it too. ‘Skye,’ he paused carefully choosing his words, ‘I want to say something and I hope that you will understand what I am going to say.’ She looked at him, his whole countenance had become serious now, his face wearing a worried look. ‘Sure Rolly, what is it?’ 

He knew that it had to be said and yet he was scared that she wouldn’t understand. He hoped that he was a good judge of character and that he had read her right but he just wasn’t sure. Still, he had to say it and there would be no turning back once he did. Her face would tell him immediately whether he had been right or wrong but that didn’t ease the way his heart was racing or make it any easier to choose the right way of saying it. He wanted to say so much but was so fearful that he was getting everything so wrong and was going to make a complete idiot of out himself, after all they had only known each other for days. What if he had been reading too much into things, what if she was just such a nice person that she reacted this way to everyone? What kind of a moron would he look like then and if that was the case, then how the hell could he work with her without feeling like a total imbecile. 

His mind was full of all these doubts. He hadn’t experienced this kind of situation and wasn’t sure what was the right thing to do but he knew that if he didn’t say something he would never really know if he was wasting his time. He would rather know now than let time go on and make things worse. He had to know and it had to be said. ‘Rolly what is it?’ She was looking at him wondering what on earth was troubling him because something sure was and her heart began to race. What if she had gotten the wrong end of things and he was just being nice to her because he was just such a nice guy? What if this had all been her imagination, wishful thinking and that as far as she was concerned he was just trying to make her feel more comfortable in her role? What if she had been so wrong to think that maybe he liked her just a little bit? 

‘Skye, I have to say this. I don’t know when I have enjoyed myself as much as I have talking to you but…..’


	24. Chapter 24

‘Skye, I have to say this. I don’t know when I have enjoyed myself as much as I have talking to you but…..’ ‘Rolly,’ she interrupted him, suddenly feeling that she would burst if she didn’t say something. She was risking everything speaking out and secretly thought that she was about to make herself into the biggest fool out but there was something that just urged her to open up to him and tell him how she felt. ‘Rolly I have never been one to share things like I have with you. I feel like we have known each other for forever.’ His face softened as he looked at her. ‘That is how I feel too but I think that is why I have to say this and I think that we both know why … we have to keep this separate, we have to keep things on a professional level at work. I hope that you understand what I mean?’ 

She hesitated before answering, a tiny part of her was disappointed but she knew that he was right. His heart was thumping in his chest waiting for her to say something. He felt sure that she was just as much a professional as he was but at the same time he knew that it was really hard to keep his feelings in check. Still, he wasn’t even really sure that she had the same feelings that he did. He thought that she liked him but was too insecure to trust his judgement. Let’s face it he thought, look how wrong I got things with Ros, I couldn’t have been more wrong. 

‘I know and I understand. And Rolly, that is fine really. I would never do anything that would be detrimental to what I think that we both want at work. That is separate and I think that you have worked too hard and so have I to get where we are now within the company, and besides,’ she blushed and whispered huskily, ‘this is private, just us two isn’t it?’ 

‘You know you are amazing,’ he said smiling, his eyes wandering to her parted lips, unable to take his eyes off them without an effort, ‘that’s exactly what I was thinking about you and about… us.’ They smiled at each other again, their eyes meeting and locking until she broke the gaze going red with pleasure. ‘Well I had better let you get to sleep then,’ he said indistinctly as he yawned. ‘Oh no,’ she yawned again, ‘see what you have done?’ They both gave a laugh. ‘Well good night then, sleep well, and please grab a lie in.’ ‘You too if you can. I will be thinking of you over breakfast.’ ‘I’ll be thinking of you too.’

It had been weeks now since that first weekend when they had started skyping and as each week went by and they worked together during the day, they both came to respect each other’s sense of commitment to their careers and their dedication to the work they were doing, even more than they had first thought. Skye was impressed by Roland’s innovative ideas, making the work place a better environment for everyone. She was blown away when he issued an edict that the balconies were to be opened up and everyone was encouraged to get outside in the finer weather and use them to chill out on their breaks or even if the mood took them, to take a laptop out and use the newly refurbished furniture that he had installed. It was great for morale and the improvement in productivity and creativity was reflected in the upward trend of the figures at the end of the month. If they struggled privately to keep focussed neither one of them showed in at work, it was only when they skyped or texted each other that they could let themselves talk freely and continue on with their getting to know each other and they loved it. They loved the rapport they had and they loved the friendship they had developed. They shared their thoughts and their passions and looked forward to the moments that they could be together in their own private cyberspace world. It was their secret world that no one else could intrude on and no one else knew about and it bonded them in a way that neither realised. 

After the end of the first month they reviewed all the reports and were sufficiently pleased by them but when the second monthly reports had come in their hard work and commitment was reflected with hugely gratifying results. In nearly all bar one area there had been an enormous increase in all aspects of the business. There was only one area that was an exception. Roland sat frowning as he went over the various excel reports comparing stats with previous months and even years, analysing the overall trends for each department, the frown on his forehead deepening. Skye looked up from what she was doing and glanced his way. 

‘What’s wrong?’ He grimaced. ‘Every area except your previous one has had a lift in productivity. Absenteeism has dropped markedly in every department with the exception of where you were. In fact,’ he ran his finger down the screen counting rows and columns, ‘there has been a significant jump.’ She got up and came over to stand next to him. ‘Look,’ he pointed. She leaned in closer but he got up and pulled her chair over. ‘I can’t understand it,’ he went on puzzled, ‘I mean look at these other figures for the area, they don’t make sense either.’ ‘No that figure is wrong, it shouldn’t go there it belongs there,’ she pointed to a different part of the sheet, ‘and that total should be there, it’s been transposed incorrectly.’ 

Roland watched her as she went through the document. ‘You know what,’ her fingers were flying through the columns and rows, changing this and deleting that, ‘the formulas are corrupted too. I used to do these reports and even created some of the sheets and formulas so I know what I am talking about. ‘Here,’ she pointed, ‘and here.’ She quickly went through the various cells and corrected them, readjusting them and adding figures and symbols as he watched her, totally impressed by her knowledge. 

‘There,’ she smiled, ‘all fixed.’ ‘How the hell did it get into this mess and who the hell is responsible?’ he pondered more than annoyed as he flicked through his emails looking for the author. ‘And even though that has sorted it,’ he went on frowning, ‘it doesn’t explain the jump in the leave’ He went on studying the data and looking none too pleased the more he read. ‘Hang on,’ he stopped and looked at her, ‘these reports are supposed to come from department heads aren’t they?’ She nodded looking uncomfortable. He was studying her face. ‘Skye what is it? I know that there is something, I can tell.’ She shrugged. ‘You know me so well already don’t you?’ She gave him a small smile. ‘Ok yes you are right, normally only department heads collate the reports but well…’ she hesitated. Before she went on his face cleared. ‘Sylvia was your department head wasn’t she? Let me guess, she didn’t have a clue how to do the reports, you were the one that was doing them and now you aren’t there she has made a dog’s dinner of them. Is that it?’ Skye reluctantly nodded.

‘I am so sorry. It is my fault.’ He looked askance at her. ‘What do you mean it is your fault? How can it be your fault? It is obvious to me that she isn’t competent and was covering herself using you to get her where she is. Skye I won’t have you taking the blame for this.’ ‘But it is my fault. I tried to teach her how to do the reports and very obviously I have failed. She is quite intelligent Roland, I just think that like a lot of very highly strung people she comes across as a know it all and condescending, always sticking her nose in where it isn’t welcome but really, I think that she is very insecure and she over compensates for it by being a total pain in the arse with no communication skills and very little rapport. She can be very intuitive when it comes to closing deals and she does have a good head for negotiation too. That really is her forte but I don’t think that she thinks she will get to where she wants to be in that line. That is really where she would shine but I guess that she wants it all and feels that she is capable of having it all when really she isn’t.’ 

‘That may be Skye, but right now I need to take some action.’ He picked up his phone and dialled an extension. ‘It’s Roland; could you come up to my office immediately please?’ Skye heard a muffled reply which Roland cut short. ‘You can discuss that when you come up but I want to see you right now. Is that clear?’ He hung up abruptly and Skye was a little shocked. She had not heard him speak to anyone like that before. He had never been rude or even annoyed, she didn’t think that it was his nature and this was a revelation, he sounded so cold and almost ruthless. ‘She is the reason for all the leave isn’t she? When you were there you were keeping that department running, without you it has gone to hell hasn’t it?’ The look on his face startled Skye.

‘I wouldn’t say that really,’ she modestly replied. ‘Skye don’t, you aren’t doing yourself any favours being humble, you know your stuff, be proud of yourself and admit it, you were the backbone that kept that area on an even keel and now it’s gone to shit.’ She was embarrassed and didn’t want to put anyone down, even Sylvia, but she had to admit that she had heard things were a whole lot worse than ever and she owed it to the others that were still there battling on, and to the company and herself and Roland too, to speak up for the sake of everyone she supposed. 

She sighed, ‘It’s gotten so much worse since Sylvia didn’t get this position,’ Skye admitted. ‘I have had regular complaints from my friends down there. They have said that she has just gone to pieces. The stress levels are dreadful.’ He nodded, he had gone white with anger. ‘Right, this has got to stop. I am not going to put up with this kind of thing going on. It can destroy morale and eats away like a cancer spreading from one department to another.’ Skye looked distressed as he talked. She knew Sylvia and knew what she was capable of when she got in one of her moods and to be honest, she didn’t want to be around to see one of her first class hissy fits. She had witnessed them before, even been on the end of more than one of her tirades and it was sure something to behold.

At that moment there was a knock on the door and Roland called out sharply to come in. Sylvia walked in all smiles for Roland until she saw Skye sitting there next to him. Her mouth dropped for a fleeting moment then she pulled herself together and resumed her normal gratuitous posing that she always adopted around those above her station. ‘Roland how nice to see you,’ she simpered, ‘and you too Skye,’ she added this as an afterthought hoping to curry favour with him. ‘How can I help you today? What can I do for you?’

She was all graciousness in her manner and it made Skye want to heave when she thought about the way she spoke to her own team. She had attempted to defend her to Roland, that was just the kind of person that she was but she knew that there had been times she had seen her reduce grown men to little nubs with her sarcasm and caustic appraisals but right at that moment, as she stood there in front of them, butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth. He gestured for her to sit down in one of the two chairs that were in front of his desk. She was all smiles as she sat, inching her skirt up to show off what she obviously thought were an impressive pair of legs, Roland however was not impressed.

‘Can you give me one good reason why I shouldn’t dismiss you?’ he said quietly.


	25. Chapter 25

Sylvia’s face went red. Her eyes shot over to Skye’s face expecting to see triumph written all over it but when she saw the look of total amazement she went white. She realised that it was just as much as a shock to Skye as it was to herself. ‘I don’t know what you mean?’ she barely squeaked back at him. ‘I am talking about the mess that you have made of your own department.’ She looked down at the floor, she looked at the window, in fact she looked anywhere but at Roland. She was trying to buy some time. ‘The monthly report was a shambles. If it hadn’t been for Skye fixing it the projections for several contracts I am in negotiation for would be a humiliating debacle. In fact, you have a lot to be grateful for to Skye. She has gone in to bat for you and tells me that you are a good negotiator. So, if that is the case let me see you in action. Start by negotiating for your own position.’ 

‘I… I have worked for this company for nearly five years and in that time I think you will find my record exemplary. I always close deals that even Nigel can’t. Go ahead and ask him, he will tell you. He can vouch for the quality of my work. I don’t know why…’ Roland interrupted her. ‘Why is your department the only one in the whole company that has a leave rate that is going up and not down? Why are so many of your team so unhappy, so discontent that they would rather take a day off with no pay because their sick leave has run out than come to work when everyone else within the whole company has been enthused and have a new optimism about the work place since I have implemented changes? Can you explain that to me?’ 

‘Well that’s not my fault if people are lazy and want to take sickies. You can’t blame me for their lack of work ethics.’ He shook his head. ‘But I can blame you for making it so intolerable that no one wants to work in your area.’ 

‘They need a firm hand or they wouldn’t get anything done. They would be sitting in the coffee shop all day chatting or whatever it is they do when they don’t want to do any work,’ she pleaded. ‘Is it true that you have told your staff the balcony is out of bounds for them, going expressly against my directions?’ Skye shot a look at Roland. She had heard the same thing but had not mentioned it. He had certainly done his homework. Sylvia saw the look and realised that it had not been Skye that had told him by the look of surprise on her face. For a moment she wondered just who it was but she had other more pressing things to think about. ‘Well I just thought that with the staff I have on my team that they really would shirk off if they were allowed to gallivant around the balcony where I couldn’t keep my eye on them.’

‘You thought that did you? What right do you think that you have to go against something that I had implemented as part of company policy?’ She was looking desperate now. ‘I am sorry Roland, really I am. I didn’t mean anything by it I just was trying to keep them all under control, you don’t know what it is like when you try to be firm and get no respect for it and no thanks.’ He looked at her thinking hard. ‘You must know that you have to be firm to get respect, look at the position that you are in. I am sure that you understand how hard it is.’ 

‘You don’t earn respect by raising contempt from those that you work with; you earn it by leading by example, by transparency and sound judgement. You work to become a role model for others, something to be aspired to, setting goals for yourself and for them. You coach and mentor and above are proactive, that is how you gain the trust and respect of your colleagues. It’s all part of team work and nurturing,’ Roland stated emphatically. She looked totally mollified by his comments and sat perfectly still waiting for him to go on. She knew that her whole career with the company depended on what was to come as he sat there thinking and deciding her fate. He finally spoke, breaking the tension filled air so suddenly that her nerves twanged at the sound of his voice.

‘You are on one months’ probation. I want to see a serious change in your attitude to your staff and the way things are run down there. I am not expecting you to become best friends with your staff but I do want to see you developing some kind of a rapport. It is going to be up to you Sylvia whether you earn the right to stay on here or whether you go, but from now on you are to follow company policy meticulously. Am I clear?’ His voice was sharp and firm, not scolding but full of authority. Skye looked on in amazement. Was this the Roland, her Rolly that she had come to know, this almost cold stranger? She shuddered a little realising that maybe he could be ruthless even though she knew that what he had decided was probably a lot more than Sylvia deserved.

She nodded. ‘And prior to compiling next months’ figures you are to set up a meeting with Skye and she will take you through them. Look on her as your mentor; she will be your second chance at getting it right. Don’t blow it.’ 

After she had left he breathed a sigh of relief. ‘You do know that you have just made an enemy don’t you?’ Skye asked, ‘she won’t thank you for it you know, even though it is probably more than she deserves.’ Roland shrugged. ‘If she can’t cut it then I don’t want her working here’ he said coldly, still seething about Sylvia’s attempt to undermine all that he was trying to achieve. ‘She should be kissing the ground that you walk on because I had every intention of firing her if it hadn’t been for you. Like you said, she is a good negotiator when it comes to clients but her people skills, handling her own staff; they leave so much to be desired. I can’t let that go on Skye, you know that it is not good for business and sooner or later we would have a lawsuit on our hands for workplace bullying. I don’t want a raft of stress cases from her team either and that I am sure would only be a matter of time.’ 

She nodded, she knew he was right but just the same, she knew Sylvia and she knew that even if she lifted her game, she wouldn’t take this lying down. She had a new respect for him though, he had to be tough, and he had to do the right thing by everyone. She was a little in awe of the way that he had handled the situation and her respect just soared up another notch.

‘Do you think that you can fix these other reports, I am sure that they are incorrect too?’ he asked her, his voice losing its edge when he spoke. For the next few hours they spent their time going over all the other data that Sylvia has supplied. It took them quite some time before they were sure that everything was now in order and so engrossed were they that they lost track of time. It wasn’t until they heard the cleaners moving about outside that they realised how late it was and were shocked when they saw it was going on for after seven o’clock. 

‘Come on, time to call it quits. I’ll walk you out. I am going to call it a night too. I am knackered to be honest.’ They shut down their computers, she grabbed her handbag and he grabbed his laptop and they made their way out but as they reached the huge glass doors at the front of the building they could see it was pouring with rain. ‘You can’t wait for a bus in this, come on, I have my car in the downstairs car park, we can slip down to the entrance at the side of the portico and I will give you a lift home, that way we shouldn’t get too wet. Besides,’ he looked at her, ‘I don’t like the idea of you getting on the bus this late on your own.’ ‘Rolly its way out of your way, I don’t want to put you to any trouble.’ ‘It’s no trouble and I insist. I don’t want you to be out in this weather and apart from that, you look as tired as I am so if you had to wait for a bus it would be even later than it is now before you got in and I feel guilty enough as it is that you have staid back this late as it is.’ 

She looked at him gratefully. She really was tired and hadn’t been looking forward to a wait in the wet and cold and then a trip home on the bus with it being so miserable and all. ‘Thanks, I really do appreciate it if you are sure that you don’t mind. I know that you must be as tired as I am.’ They made a run for it as the wind died down a little and got into the car park in the building next door without getting too soaked. 

When he pushed the automatic button on his keys and a black Aston Martin Virage lit up she was more than impressed. She had never been in a car that was so luxuriously appointed. She sank into the cream leather upholstery and let out a sigh as she sniffed. He looked at her puzzled. ‘What?’ he questioned. ‘Oh, god I love that smell. It is gorgeous.’ He sniffed too and smiled. ‘Do you mean that new car smell?’ ‘Yes,’ she purred, ‘the smell of a new car and leather seats, it’s …’ she was lost for words thinking of what would be appropriate to say. ‘It’s hot?’ he asked, keeping his face straight as much as he could. She nodded, flicking her eyes at him and then looking away, unable to face his scrutiny as she tried to smile demurely but her pulse jumped a million miles at the sound of his words. 

God how could any one man have such an effect on her, make her feel like a river of molten fire was coursing through her veins just at the sound of one word? She swallowed and tried to steady herself by looking out the window as though it was the most riveting view to behold being in an underground car park and then she attempted to put it down to the car itself that was making her feel this way but she wasn’t sure how convincing she was.

He was attempting to look as nonchalant as he possibly could but his heart was beginning to race just being this close to her with no one else around. She was trying to give out the impression that her excitement was due to being in such a beautiful car. 

‘See, I told you I was a petrol head,’ she laughed a little nervously. ‘I love the sound of an engine as it roars into life,’ she enthused. He nodded, ‘It gives that unmistakeable roar then purrs a little and roars again. It is like a some kind of wild animal that you think that you have under control but you know it is just waiting to break free and take off.’ He laughed at the poetic nonsense he was babbling in the hopes of hiding his excitement from her. ‘You know that is exactly how I feel about it, it roars into life,’ he quoted her, ‘it is so great to find someone else that feels like I do about it. You should see what it can do on an open road.’ Her eyes were shining at the thought. ‘That would be wicked. I can imagine how exhilarating it must be.’ He nodded and grinned. ‘Well in that case… it’s settled. You will have to come out for a run in it and see for yourself then won’t you?’

‘Really, could I?’ They were stopped at a red light now having taken off from the car park so smoothly that it felt like they were just cruising. He quickly glanced at her. The rain was still coming down in buckets and the street lights were making strange shadowy patterns on the car window, lighting her face in patches, highlighting her eyes and mouth as it curved in to a beam of pleasure at his invitation. ‘Sure, would you like to?’ ‘Rolly, I would love it.’ Every time she called him Rolly his stomach gave a little jump of delight. ‘You got it, it’s a date then,’ he grinned as the lights turned green and he took off. ‘We could make a day of it, take a picnic too if you like. I know a great spot near some waterfalls.’ ‘That sounds beautiful,’ she smiled happily at the thought. 

‘Skye I just know that you are going to absolutely love it,’ he said, ‘I promise I will make it a day that you won’t forget.’


	26. Chapter 26

Roland was an excellent driver in any conditions. He told her that he had done driving courses with a couple of ex formula one drivers and she believed him. Even though the roads were treacherous with the wet conditions, both Roland and the car handled the situation superbly and before she knew it they arrived at her home and he was parking just outside her house. She leaned back in her seat and stretched out. ‘I don’t want to get out, I am too comfortable,’ she laughed. He undid his seat belt and turned a little towards her. ‘Sounds to me like you are falling in love….with the car,’ he commented, raising an eyebrow in mock consternation. She smiled innocently enough as she replied, ‘I am, I do, I mean…’ she was suddenly confused. She felt herself going red and hoped that he couldn’t see her in the darkness of the shadowy car interior. 

She looked into his eyes, searching his face, trying to read it. He leaned into her then reached over and undid her seat belt. Neither one of them said a thing. Neither one of them took their eyes off each other as they inched closer. Neither one of them noticed a shadow pass around from the back of the car, along the driver’s side door, stopping to quickly peer in then moving quickly around the front and to the passenger side door. Their faces were inches apart now; they were lost in each other, their breathing becoming rapid, and their hearts pounding as they gazed into each other’s eyes. 

‘You fucking bitch,’ a voice screamed as the passenger car door was flung open and a hand reached in grabbing Skye’s arm and dragging her out of the car. Roland was out of the car in seconds, sprinting around to the footpath where Skye was struggling to get away and whimpering, the grip on her arm hard and tight. ‘Oi, what the fuck do you think you are doing. Let go.’ Skye had never heard Roland swear and it came just as much as a shock to her as being grabbed had. ‘Fuck off, what’s it got to do with you, it’s none of your fucking business?’ ‘Let her go mate,’ Roland warned, ‘or I will beat the stuffing out of you.’ ‘Rod, let go of me.’ Skye was shouting now but his grip was like iron around her arm and he wasn’t letting go any time soon. 

‘You bitch; I knew there must have been someone else when you have been acting so cold lately. You fucking cheating cow,’ Rod cursed, totally ignoring Roland’s warning. Skye was still struggling but every time she tried to pull away from him he twisted her arm even harder. He had waited and watched for weeks now, hoping to catch her out in ambush. He knew that there must be something going on and had been determined to find out what is was and get his revenge. He had waited for years to get Skye into bed with him, thinking as each weary year went by that sooner or later he would wear her down and get her. He wanted her badly and in his own mind she was his and he had every right to her. 

‘You heard her, let her go,’ Roland stepped forward menacingly in the hopes that Rod, whoever he was, would back off. ‘Make me,’ Rod spat out at him as he dropped Skye’s arm and turned towards Roland. ‘Roland!’ Skye screamed as Rod lunged at him but he was too quick for him and he swung a powerful punch that sent Rod staggering backwards against the brick fence of Skye’s house. ‘Now fuck off and if you ever come near Skye again the police will be dealing with you instead of me and they won’t be so lenient.’ 

Rod was about to say something when the porch light went on and Paul and Mr Mitchell flew down the front steps and out the gate to see what the commotion was. ‘Rod, what the hell?’ Paul exclaimed. ‘Rod Wilkinson, what are you playing at? If you have hurt my Skye you won’t just have the police to deal with, you will have me and Paul and …,’ he looked at Roland not even knowing who he was but nodding his head towards him. ‘Now get out of here and don’t come back, you bleeding idiot.’

‘Skye babes, are you alright?’ Roland hurried over to where she was now leaning on the fence rubbing her arm and panting, tears streaming down her face, more out of fright than hurt even though her arm was throbbing from where Rod had grabbed it and her shoulder was aching from the jerk he had given her when dragging her out of the car. ‘Come on, we had better get you inside and out of the cold,’ he was white at the thought that she had been hurt and what might have happened if he hadn’t reacted as quickly. ‘I’m alright really, it was just a bit of a shock,’ she told him, her voice shaky to her own ears, ‘I am so sorry.’ ‘It’s ok, really. As long are you are alright. Did he hurt you? I swear I’ll …’ ‘Skye, are you alright?’ Her father came hurrying over to her accompanied by Paul. 

‘It’s my entire fault,’ Paul was saying as both he and her father surrounded her. ‘The bleeding prick, if he ever comes anywhere near you again I will snot him good and proper,’ Paul was carrying on. Roland stood a little aside as her family crowded around her and walked her in to the front garden and up the front steps. ‘Really I am alright thanks to Roland.’ Her Dad turned and stepped back a few paces. ‘Sorry,’ he said to Roland as he held out his hand, ‘Ifan Mitchell son, but please call me John.’ ‘Pleased to meet you John, Roland Barker,’ he said holding out his hand. ‘You’re bleeding; you’ve cut your hand. Come on then, best get you inside too and cleaned up.’ ‘Oh Rolly, are you alright?’ Skye turned to take his hand and look at it. There was a nasty graze on the back of his hand where he had skinned it as he swung in between the lamp post outside her house and his car in his hurry to get to Skye. ‘It’s nothing really. I should be going so you can get settled and I am sure you have things to discuss with your family.’ ‘Nonsense, you are coming in and Mother will look after you, I insist,’ John was adamant, ‘you helped our girl so I am sure that Joan and Jen will want to meet you at least. No further arguments now,’ he persisted, ‘and that’s final.’

Skye’s Mum and her sister Jen were standing in the front door looking out as they came up the stairs. ‘What is it, what has happened?’ her Mum asked. ‘It’s that frigging sod Rod, he came after our Skye and pulled her out of Roland’s car, the prick.’ Paul was raging with fury. ‘Paul language please,’ her Mum said as she noticed the well-dressed stranger with them then noticing the bedraggled state that both Skye and whoever he was, was in she told to Jen to run and get towels to dry them off as all the while during their encounter with Rod had been going on, it had been pouring and they were both soaked. 

‘Skye, what happened? Are you alright?’ Her Mum hugged her to her despite her sodden clothes. ‘I am ok,’ she replied for about the fifth time, ‘but Rolly, I mean Roland has cut his hand,’ she gestured towards him. ‘Joan this is Roland Barker, he helped to save our girl. Roland this is Skye’s Mum Joan.’ Roland smiled warmly at her, he could see a resemblance to both her parents, they were fine looking people and he could see where she got her looks from. ‘Pleased to meet you Mrs Mitchell,’ he responded holding out his left hand as it was his right one that was bleeding. ‘Hi, I am Jenny but call me Jen, everyone does.’ Skye’s sister had been hanging back a little staring at Roland, appraising him and she liked what she saw but now she pushed herself forward, dying to meet him. He was gorgeous. ‘So how do you two know each other?’ she asked bluntly. 

‘We work together, Roland is my boss,’ Skye said hurriedly. ‘Skye is my partner,’ Roland replied at the same time. Jen looked at the two of them, giving Skye a very curious look. ‘So you are the new bright and shining star are you?’ she asked, much to Skye’s extreme embarrassment. ‘Oh, it was you that gave Skye the laptop wasn’t it, hmm... ok I get it,’ she smirked knowingly. ‘I can see why she just loves going to work now.’ ‘Jen!’ Skye could have killed her but Roland was pleased beyond words. ‘Come on into the kitchen and I will get you cleaned up and put some antiseptic on your hand,’ Joan interrupted after seeing how bothered Skye was getting, ‘and Jenny, don’t you have something to do?’ 

The hint wasn’t lost on her and she sighed. ‘See you around I am sure,’ she smiled at Roland. ‘See you Jen. Oh and by the way, I do love your pyjamas,’ he laughed as he followed them down the hallway to the kitchen. Jen looked down and now it was her turn to be embarrassed. She had on a pair of fleecy pyjamas that had Nellie the elephant motifs all over them. They were for kids but she loved the cartoon character however they were not exactly becoming and even though she suddenly felt very foolish for having something so childish on, she couldn’t help but laugh at his comment. Touché she thought to herself, she was going to like Roland, she was going to like him a lot. 

‘Take a seat at the table and I will just get something to take care of your hand. You’ll stay to supper of course won’t you? I am sure that the pair of you will be famished and there is more than enough. It’s only Scouse, mash and veg but if you don’t mind plain tasty cooking, it will hit the spot and warm you both up.’ Jen arrived at that moment with towels but whatever she had been about to say to Roland she refrained from doing so after the look that Skye had given her when she had walked into the room so instead, she smiled sweetly and winked at Roland as she handed him a towel. ‘Do you need a hand Roland?’ she asked innocently. Skye gave her yet another thunderous look but Jen just pulled a face at her. ‘I’m fine thanks Jen,’ Roland grinned back at her amused, ‘but thanks for the offer.’ ‘Oh any time Roland,’ she leered, running her eyes over him suggestively. 

‘Jen I am sure that you have plenty of things to do,’ Joan looked at her with meaning seeing how het up Skye was getting. Jen looked at Roland and shrugged. ‘See you around,’ she smiled. ‘See you Jen,’ he grinned back but catching the look on Skye’s face he knew that she wasn’t impressed with her little sister’s antics and turned away from Jen until she was gone, hoping that it would settle Skye down. He was pretty chuffed though as he got the feeling that she was a little, just a tiny bit jealous of the attention Jen was paying him and that really tickled his fancy. Of course he might just be imagining it but he sure hoped that he wasn’t.

At Joan’s insistence, after they had dried off, and after taking care of Roland’s hand, they had a fine supper of Scouse covered in plenty of HP sauce, and then Joan made them both a cup of milk coffee and left them to it in the living room after saying her goodnight and Roland thanking both her and John for their hospitality. ‘It is we that should be thanking you,’ her Dad said as he wished them a good night. ‘And Skye, don’t be too late, you know that you have work tomorrow.’ ‘He’s right Skye, I should be going.’ ‘Please, please don’t. At least… finish your coffee and I will explain everything. I owe you that.’ 

They sat sipping their coffee, Roland silent not wanting to press her into any kind of an explanation if she didn’t want to. ‘I am really sorry,’ she broke the silence. ‘I am so ashamed this has happened.’ ‘Why, it’s not your fault.’ ‘But it is. You see Rod was a friend of Pauls and well, we went out together but I thought that we were just friends, there was nothing in it. I always looked at him like a mate, or at best a brother but you see, well he had other ideas. I had told him and told him then that night that I went to the pub, you know the day that you got me the laptop, he caused a scene and got a bit rough too and that was when I thought that I had made it really plain that there was never going to be any chance of anything. I am just not interested. But he was so horrible Rolly. He said some really hurtful things and well…’ she paused, ‘I thought that it was the end of it but it wasn’t obviously.’

‘Skye you know in a way I don’t blame him.’ She looked at him startled. ‘What do you mean?’ He was speaking quietly, watching her face as he spoke. ‘Oh I don’t mean when he tried to hurt you, that is unforgiveable but well, if I fell in love with you and thought that I had lost you I …’ he swallowed and looking into her eyes he went on softly.

‘I would be pretty devastated too.’


	27. Chapter 27

‘Skye, it’s nearly ten thirty,’ her Mum’s voice came floating down from the top of the stairs. ‘I don’t believe this,’ she muttered but Roland only laughed. ‘Your Mum is right, it’s getting late and we both have to work tomorrow. And it’s Friday too and you know that we have to finish that account off and we have that conference call with Merrick first thing in the morning. I had better get going and let you get to bed.’ She sighed. ‘It is going to be a busy day. Are you ok to drive, I mean how is your hand, can you manage?’ ‘It’s fine really, it was only a scratch. Are you ok, this must have shaken you up? How is your arm?’ He took her hand and examined her arm, pushing the sleeve of her shirt up. ‘You will probably have some bruising and you will be a bit sore for a while.’ 

He felt her pulse quicken as he inspected her arm and it had an immediate effect on him. He could feel himself begin to stiffen and knew he had to get out of there quickly before he was tempted to hold her in his arms, smother her in kisses, lay her on the couch and take her there and then on the spot. Stop it he told himself as he gritted his teeth and tried not to think of her warm silky skin touching his and the racing of her pulse at his touch. ‘Skye if you don’t feel up to it you don’t need to come in, work will keep. You are more important you know,’ he urged her trying hard to keep control of his voice. ‘Rolly honestly I will be fine. It was more of a shock really and well we were just about to …’ she stopped embarrassed at her presumption and kicking herself for even saying it, but she had felt sure that he had been about to kiss her when Rod had shown up. 

‘Skye, it’s getting late love.’ She heard her Mum’s voice coming from half way down the stairs now as she looked around and saw her standing on the landing in her dressing gown. She looked up at Roland as he stood up and held out his hand to help her up. ‘I had better go.’ ‘I’ll just walk Roland out Mum, won’t be a minute,’ she called back to her Mum. She was hoping that her Mum would take the hint and go back up to bed but instead she stood her ground on the stairs, failing to see that a bit of privacy saying good night would be warranted. 

‘Good night Roland, it was lovely to meet you,’ Joan called out. ‘Good night Joan, it was a pleasure to meet to you too and thank you very much for the Scouse, I absolutely loved it,’ he said grinning up at her from the hall as he walked to the front door. ‘You are welcome to drop by any time for a meal or a cuppa. The door is always open to you,’ she was almost leering at him in the nicest possible way but Skye was totally surprised. She had never seen her Mum so taken with anyone in her life. ‘Thank you, that is so very kind of you,’ Roland responded politely, ‘I am sure I would love to come again.’ He flashed another dazzling smile back at her and she was simply melting and giggling like a school girl. ‘Mum, it is getting late and Roland does have to get home.’ Skye was trying to be subtle and give her a hint that she wanted to be alone with him but it just didn’t work. She sighed frustrated. 

‘Good night Roland, and thank you again. I am sorry that you had to go through all of this, I really feel bad about it,’ Skye was saying. ‘Good night Skye. Please don’t worry about it, these things happen.’ He looked at her and then looked up the stairs but her Mum was still standing there so he shrugged a little as she looked at him apologetically. ‘Well, goodnight. I will see you at work but only if you are up to it, you hear.’ She nodded. ‘Good night. Drive safely.’

He turned around and walked out the door waving to her as he did so, then jumped straight in his car and took off down the street on his way home to his empty apartment. He would have given anything to have turned around, gone back to Skye and kissed her good night but her Mum, nice lady as she was, just didn’t seem to want to leave them any space. Still, he could understand them being protective of her and after what had happened with Rod, he could totally understand it. He was actually impressed to pieces with her family. You could see that they all loved and cared for each other very much and didn’t mind showing it. If only his Father would treat him the same he was thinking on his trip home. 

Had Roland turned around and gone back to Skye’s he would have been surprised by what he found there as the minute he had taken off a figure emerged from the shadows, walked along the foot path to where he had been parked, and picked something up off the ground before retreating down the street. But at the time it would have meant nothing to either Roland or Skye for all they could think about was each other. 

After Roland left, Skye jumped straight in the shower then hurriedly got out her clothes for the morning to save time while her hair dried. She then popped into bed and turned out the lights. She was tired and wanted to fall asleep but her mind just kept getting in the way, or should I say a pair of startling blue eyes did. All she could think about was being so close to him in the car, so close that she could feel his warm breath on her face. She had wanted him to kiss her, she had desperately wanted to feel his lips on hers, to feel his skin against her face but it wasn’t meant to be. She fell asleep picturing what it would feel like to have those lips running down her body and doing things to her that she had never let anyone else do and she was still smiling about that thought when she woke the next day. She stretched herself out and smiled to herself and then the thought that had not hit her until now popped into her head, he had called her babes. Oh god, he had said, “Skye babes, are you alright” and she just about melted thinking about it. She couldn’t stop grinning to herself. 

Roland had driven home and hit the shower the minute that he was in the door. He was tired and really needed to get some sleep but like Skye, his thoughts continually turned to her and the way she had looked sitting in his car, her lips slightly parted in anticipation he was hoping. Dam that idiot Rod, he cursed as he rolled over for the fourth time, unable to get to sleep. God how he wanted to taste her mouth, to see her smile after having incredible sex, he wanted her so very much. He just wanted to see her with the after- glow of an orgasm on her face. He wanted to give that look to her and with that thought he drifted off into a dreamless slumber.   
‘Thank god it’s Friday,’ Pat exclaimed when she met Skye walking into work the next morning. ‘Do you have anything planned for the weekend?’ Skye shook her head. ‘No, nothing really, I just want to have a quiet one. It has been rather a long week really.’ ‘You look tired. Roland must be working you too hard.’ She shook her head again. ‘It’s not Roland’s fault.’ She then proceeded to tell her about what had happened with Rod, how he had shown up and freaked out. Pat’s eyebrows rose. ‘I have to ask you, and you can tell me to mind my own business but …. what were you doing in Roland’s car that got Rod so mad, well madder than he is that is?’ Skye went pink. ‘Nothing, we weren’t doing anything,’ she mumbled, ‘it was late and raining and he was just being kind and gave me a lift home.’ She looked at Pat hoping that she sounded convincing. ‘He felt bad for keeping me back late again,’ she added as an afterthought. 

Pat looked at her disbelievingly. ‘We weren’t doing anything,’ Skye said emphatically. ‘Skye, I have seen the way that Roland looks at you. If you weren’t doing anything it is not because he doesn’t want to. Trust me, he wants to.’ Skye went crimson, half from embarrassment and half from the thrill that shot through her at the thought of what Pat had just said, hitting her very core like a tidal wave of molten fire that threatened to engulf her senses if she didn’t get a grip and concentrate. She would think about it later she promised herself, when she was on her own and she could savour the thought and what it did to her. ‘Pat you are imagining things,’ she pulled herself back to reality, ‘we work closely together, it is purely a working relationship. That is all.’ Pat was staring at her long and hard. ‘Well I can tell you now, I work closely with Nigel but there is no way that he looks at me the way that Roland looks at you and if he did,’ she laughed, ‘I would probably knee him where it hurts but if it was Roland, well that would be a different matter entirely,’ she went on giggling. 

Skye almost glared at her, she was uncomfortable talking about her and Roland and didn’t want anything to spoil the friendship they had outside work. ‘Pat I am telling it’s not what you think.’ ‘Ok, if you say so,’ Pat replied looking sceptical, ‘but I am telling you now, that is sure not the vibes I am picking up off him when I see you two together. I am not saying that you don’t have a professional relationship and aren’t great as a team because you are. Everyone is tremendously impressed with what both Roland and you have accomplished already in such a short space of time but I am telling you, given the chance I am sure that he would like to take it further. Just my opinion Skye and I am not the only one that thinks it.’ 

‘What do you mean, who else has been talking?’ Skye was a little appalled that she was becoming part of office gossip but she was curious to know too. ‘Don’t worry, apart from Anna – and you know what she is like, she would love to see everyone bonking their brains out on their desks if she had her way,’ Pat laughed shaking her head, ‘but well, even Nigel has noticed that the two of you seem to get on like a house of fire. He is so impressed with Roland and is terribly impressed with your work too. It has taken the pressure off him; he is like a different person since Roland has been here. He is even getting back to how he was when I first started, he has become motivated and that is all due to you and Roland’s inspiration. Roland really is the best thing to have happened to this place ever.’ 

‘Thanks Pat,’ a voice said from behind them. They were waiting for the lift while they were talking and didn’t notice Roland’s approach from behind. ‘I hope that I make a difference, I try to. I just want everyone here to be happy coming to work, that is the real key to making a difference in any work place,’ he smiled looking at Skye as he said this. The look wasn’t lost on Pat and as she walked into the lift she gave her a subtle nudge as if to say, ‘See I told you.’ Skye frowned at her as a warning to knock it off but Pat just looked back at her innocently. ‘Good morning by the way,’ Roland went on, ‘how are you both this morning? Looking forward to the weekend? Any plans?’ he asked Pat politely. 

They chatted as they rode the lift up to their floor and then left Pat at her desk. As soon as they were in their office and alone they both spoke at the same time. ‘How is your hand, is it ok?’ Skye was asking. ‘How is your arm, here let me take a look,’ Roland asked, stepping over and taking her hand then pushing up her sleeve a little to inspect it. ‘You’re bruised, is it sore? My hand is fine, look I even took off your Mum’s bandage. See, no harm done.’ He held out his hand and Skye took it looking closely at the back of it where it was grazed. 

She couldn’t help noticing his fingers, they were long and sensual and perfectly manicured. She had a flash of his hands running over her skin, touching her face and stroking her hair. Combined with the touch of his other hand gently holding her arm her senses were in over drive just as much as his were at the touch of her fingers holding his hand. 

‘You have beautiful hands,’ she said without thinking and trembled a little at the sound of her own words.


	28. Chapter 28

‘You have beautiful hands,’ she said without thinking and trembled a little at the sound of her own words. She abruptly dropped his hand and looked embarrassed. She was kicking herself for having voiced her thoughts. What the hell was she saying? They had agreed to be professional and here she was practically drooling all over him. Stop it her brain was telling her. ‘I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to say that.’ He looked at her smiling. ‘I am glad that you did.’ Her face went pink with pleasure but she was kicking herself for having been so lax. She turned away and began gathering up some papers for their phone conference with their client purely to hide the emotion on her face, not noticing he too had gone pink with the pleasure of her words. 

Likewise, he couldn’t tell her what he wanted to do to her with his hands, with his fingers, and he had to stop thinking about it or he wouldn’t be getting any work done. In fact, he had to hastily move over to his desk and sit down to hide the growing erection in his suit pants. No matter what he did, right at that moment it was not going down and he was highly embarrassed, he didn’t want Skye to know, not when they had agreed to keep it on a strictly business basis at work, he had to focus so he was glad to be distracted by his phone ringing. 

The phone conference with their client went a lot longer than either of them had anticipated but they were both over the moon with the results. They nailed a new contract that was promising to be an exciting step for the company and a move forward into securing its future for the next five years. Roland was particularly chuffed with the input that Skye had made, it had helped synch the deal. Skye was in awe of his negotiating skills and the general rapport he had with the client. She watched him with nothing but admiration as he managed to talk his way through any obstacles that had come up in the conversation and he ended up having the client do a total back flip on some of the sticking points that had previously been holding the deal up. He was just so smooth. 

‘You were great,’ he enthused when they had finished. ‘No Roland, it was you that was wonderful.’ ‘Skye you are just too modest. We would not have had the same result if it hadn’t been for your input. And apart from that,’ he grinned, ‘Godfrey is smitten with you.’ ‘Oh very funny,’ she laughed, ‘stop it you are such a tease.’ He shook his head. ‘I am not teasing,’ he protested, ‘you had him eating out of your hands. Not that I could blame him,’ he added as he gave her an admiring glance. She beamed back at him as they sat looking at each other. ‘Ok how about a celebratory lunch, my shout?’ he offered enthusiastically. ‘That would be…’ A knock on the door interrupted them. 

‘Roland, Skye – congratulations. I have just had a call from Godfrey and I don’t know how you two did it but you nailed it.’ Nigel had burst into the room looking like the cat that had swallowed the cream. He had known Godfrey for years, been members at the same clubs and knew that there was no way known he could have ever gotten him to agree to anything as he had tried before and gotten nowhere fast. ‘I can’t remember ever hearing him so impressed. He’s arranged for lunch at the club. He can’t wait to meet you in person in person Roland, he has even insisted you bring over a contract with you.’ 

Nigel was laughing with excitement. ‘You realise what this means to us all, this is a great day for all of us. You really are the goods, the both of you.’ He walked over and kissed Skye and shook Roland’s hand. ‘Come on then, we have to get going. Skye do you think that you could get something together and get it couriered over, sorry but the club is one of the last men only bastions so I can’t invite you too but he does want to meet with you personally. He was very specific about that so make sure that you keep that in mind and add it to your calendar. He wants to take you out to lunch next week and he is even talking of holding a small get to together with his company executives, drinks next Friday night.’

Roland looked over at Skye who took all this in her stride. ‘I will have something put together and sent by the time you get there. Won’t take long as we have standard legally approved contracts that will make do, anything extra that he has asked for and that we have proposed can be added in later. Of course I will include a confidentiality clause, we don’t want our intellectual property to be exploited do we?’ ‘Good thinking,’ Roland agreed. ‘Are you ready?’ Nigel asked as he headed for the door. ‘I’ll meet you down stairs I just have to finish up something then will be ready,’ Roland replied. It was a lie but he didn’t want Nigel to know it. 

As soon as he was gone Roland looked at Skye. ‘I am so sorry, this is so totally unfair that you can’t come and to be honest, apart from that, I really did want to take you to lunch, you know just the two of us celebrating. I don’t want to go without you.’ He was looking so earnestly at her that she felt sorry for him. ‘Really Roland it’s ok. To be honest we still have a few things that I need to be doing and I don’t mind, really I don’t. I’ll just grab something downstairs after I get the paperwork organised and sent, then I’ll do a bit of shopping and get that account that we talked about yesterday up to scratch so that it will be finished off today before we leave. Really its fine,’ she smiled at him reassuringly. ‘Ok but I promise that I will make it up to you. Will that be all right?’ ‘You know that it will,’ she laughed, ‘now go, don’t keep Nigel and Godfrey waiting. Enjoy your lunch and I will see you when you get back.’ 

She had great time management skills and had everything organised, including a reliable courier, within half an hour. Checking the time she realised that if she didn’t get a move on and stick to her plans she would be working back late again and she really needed to get some shopping done, so she went down stairs and picked up an fine cotton jersey top that she has seen in Renee’s the previous week and that they had agreed to hold onto for her to collect. It was white, fitted at the front in a kind of knot at the bodice, very flattering and she couldn’t wait to wear it, then needing pantyhose, she went into the lingerie shop. They stocked everything from practical plain cotton knickers for day to day wear to a section that looked like it was likely to be the wardrobe department for a porno movie. 

She had only intended to get her pantyhose and that was all but she was so taken by all the lacy bra and knickers sets that she couldn’t resist. She didn’t know why but she ended up buying a white set and black set, both lacy pieces of nonsense really, then just as she was about to go she spotted a bustier that was all red and black and purple silk with a matching G string. On impulse she bought it and a little sheer black baby doll shortie nighty too. 

She felt very seductive just looking at them but the thought of wearing them was just a dream she told herself, even though the whole time she had been looking at them, all she could think about was whether Roland would like her in any of them. She’d never bought anything like the outfits before; most of her lingerie was from chain stores and even though they were nice enough, and definitely serviceable, they weren’t what she would really call erotic by any means. She didn’t know why she had bought them now but that didn’t stop her, and hell, she thought to herself, why not. A girl could imagine couldn’t she? 

And lately she had been doing a lot of imagining.


	29. Chapter 29

On her way back upstairs Skye grabbed a tub of fruit salad and a large fruit smoothie to wash it down with and then sat at her desk for the next couple of hours going over the account that she and Roland had discussed. It needed to be sorted out by Monday and with Roland not back yet she had her work cut out for her. She had been so engrossed in what she was doing that she had barely noticed the time and it wasn’t until Roland got back that she realised she had been hard at it for hours. It was after four thirty and the day was nearly done but there was still some work to be completed when he looked over the figures. He had been apologetic when he came back, explaining that Godfrey had insisted on going into great detail about a few other ideas that he thought would enhance their new venture and he had gone on and on until Roland had to cut him off in an effort to escape. 

‘I am just so sorry, I did try to get away sooner and I feel dreadful leaving you with this to sort out. Here, let me have a go at it, I know you have done most of the work, you must be tired, I’ll finish it off and we can get out of here. It’s been a long day.’ He was full of remorse for leaving her to hold the fort so to speak and none too happy at having to have spent hours with Godfrey when there was so much to do. They both spent another hour working at it until they were finally satisfied that they would have everything ready for next week. 

‘Right how about we call it a night then, it’s been a really long day,’ Roland was saying as he shut down his computer and locked away the artwork they had used earlier in the day. He stopped for a moment to look at the prints of the drawings that Skye had bought in a few weeks ago. He had only been waiting to get today over and done with before really starting to get to work on her idea. ‘You know these are just so good and I am really anxious to get started on the new app that you have come up with. You really have to fill me in on what made you think of it. You never did tell me how you came up with the idea.’ 

Skye was just getting her handbag and her shopping bag as he was talking. She laughed. ‘If I told you then you would think that I was totally daft,’ she giggled. ‘Now I really want to hear the full story. Come on, you can’t leave me hanging like this.’ She shook her head. ‘Oh no, I won’t have a shred of credibility if I tell you. Trust me, if you only knew,’ she was laughing. ‘Well, that sounds like a challenge to me. I bet you that I will get it out of you within a week,’ he wagered, ‘and to make it interesting what say we come up with something that will make it worthwhile?’ ‘Oh yes, and what would that be?’ ‘Hmm, I don’t know, let me think about it,’ he paused for thought, ‘what about if you win I will buy you anything that you like?’ ‘Anything?’ she queried with a grin on her face. ‘Anything,’ he agreed. ‘I don’t know about that but what if I lose?’ ‘That’s easy,’ he looked at her smiling, ‘have dinner with me … come to my place and cook dinner.’ 

Of all the responses he could have come up with that was one that she was not expecting and yet the thought of it set her heart fluttering. She pictured herself in what she thought his kitchen would look like, dishing up god knew what but having a quiet night, just the two of them, and it sent shivers through her. Just the thought of going to his place was enough to send her into a spin. Then after dinner what? She couldn’t even think of it without being flooded with emotions that she was desperately trying to keep a lid on.

‘Have I said something wrong, you have gone awfully quiet?’ She shook her head and snapped out of it before giving a mischievous grin. ‘No, not at all, I was just planning what I want you to buy me when I win,’ she laughed. ‘We’ll see about that. You know I can be pretty persuasive when I want to be and when I am motivated.’ ‘I don’t know why you would be so motivated, you haven’t had my cooking,’ she laughed, ‘what makes you think that it is going to be so worth all the so all the effort?’ He looked a little sheepish. ‘Well, your Mum told me you are a better cook than she is and that Scouse last night was delicious so I can only imagine how good you are.’ ‘Oh Rolly, you know what Mums are like, they exaggerate everything, she was only sucking up to you.’ 

Roland exploded with laughter, ‘Sucking up to me?’ he asked incredulous. Skye nodded, laughing so much that tears were in her eyes. ‘You must have noticed. She was all over you like a rash. You captivated her. She is smitten. She even rang this afternoon while you were gone and asked how your hand is and when you are coming around for dinner again.’ He was really pleased but he was starting to look embarrassed and it wasn’t lost on Skye. ‘Rolly come on, you must know the effect that you have on women.’ 

He looked genuinely startled now. ‘Me, I have an effect on women?’ She stopped laughing and looked at him. She wasn’t sure if he was pulling her leg or he really didn’t realise just how gorgeous he was. Maybe he didn’t, she thought, maybe he is so unassuming that he has absolutely no idea what so ever that where ever he goes every woman within sight of him follows him with their eyes. She couldn’t be sure which it was but she sure knew the effect that he had on her. ‘Err yes, there isn’t one single girl down in the accounting department that isn’t madly in love with you, you know.’ ‘Seriously?’ he asked, ‘the whole of the accounting department?’ He was looking extremely pleased with himself now and grinning again. ‘And I would tell you what their nickname for you is but I think that you already are quite pleased enough as it is and I have already said too much.’ 

‘Oh no, you can’t just leave me hanging like that . . . again! You have to tell me.’ All the way to the lift and through the atrium he was still at her but she was adamant. ‘No, I have already fed your ego enough as it is,’ she was laughing as they walked down the street together. ‘You know, really when you think about it your Mum has quite good taste,’ he grinned at her. Skye was laughing. ‘No seriously, your Dad must have been quite a looker when he was younger and your Mum is a bit of all right even now.’ She looked at him surprised. ‘I have seen photos of them when they met in their early twenties and they really were quite something. Dad was a really sharp dresser. Some of the suits that he wore were incredibly sophisticated for that time and Mum, she was a real… fashionista in her day. Dad says she was gorgeous.’ 

‘Well I can certainly see where you get it from then.’ She looked up at him as they were walking side by side. He looked steadily back at her, his eyes wracking her face trying to read her. He was so unsure of himself. It was hard to know if she was interested. Was she just holding him at arm’s length when they were at work for the sake of their agreement or was it was all just a pipe dream of his and she really didn’t fancy him at all? He just didn’t know. And it was killing him. Sometimes she let slip little things that made him think that she really did like him and at other times he wasn’t so sure. There were times when she seemed so out there and positive and yet there had been times when she had seemed so stand offish or was that really because she was shy. God it was driving him batty.

Their pace had become slower as they walked down the street and now as they looked at each other, totally oblivious to anything around them, they did not see the scruffy looking drunk in the shabby clothing weaving towards them until he reached their side. ‘Got a light for me fag then love?’ he slurred at Skye, the reek of unwashed clothes and sickly body odour assaulting their nostrils. Skye merely shook her head and they kept on walking. ‘What’s the matter then love,’ the drunk yelled out at them as he did a wobbly three sixty degree turn and staggered after them, ‘doesn’t your toffee nosed boyfriend like you talking to a real man?’ 

It was now obvious to both of them that their pursuer was spoiling for a fight as he somehow managed to half shamble after them more quickly than they would have thought possible for someone in that state, and suddenly he was by Skye’s side in a matter of moments. ‘Come on then love, what’s the matter, aren’t you getting enough then, let me show you what a real man can do for you.’ Roland hastily put his arm around Skye protectively and moved her onto the other side of him so that he was standing between her and the drunk. ‘What, what’s the matter with you? I bet she is a good fuck then mate. She looks ripe.’ Roland said nothing but they both cringed. ‘Oh, oh I see. I get it. Look at the look on your face mate. I bet she’s holding out on you, that’s what’s wrong. What’s the matter then mate, aren’t you getting your end in then?’ 

Roland snapped at that last remark. ‘Sod off then mate. Why don’t you go sober up and mind your own bleeding business.’ Despite his condition the drunk saw that as confirmation of his assumptions and just wouldn’t let it go. ‘She’s not putting out then mate. What’s the matter love, you frigid or somefink? What you need is a real man like me to show you where it goes then love. I bet I could make you smile…. Bet I could. Give us a light for my fag then love.’ The wino then, having come full circle, seemed to have lost interest and staggered off into the night thankfully, much to the relief of both of them. 

‘Are you alright?’ Roland asked her as they ground to a halt near the street corner. ‘Yes, I’m ok. I just hate drunks, why do they always seem to want to pick a fight?’ She shivered as the cold wind gusted around them. They moved a little closer to the window of the building next door to theirs and stood there for a moment. ‘Skye, would you …’ Roland hesitated, he wanted to ask her out to grab a quick belated celebratory drink and was just about to when there was a sudden screech of tyres accompanied by a scream, shouting, an almighty thudding noise and the sound of breaking glass. Time stood still. 

‘Oh god… Rolly!’ Skye screamed frantically.


	30. Chapter 30

Everything seemed to stop and then move in slow motion. It was surreal; the only thing seeming real was the look of abject horror on the faces of those few passers-by that had witnessed what happened. It was like one of those avant-garde movies where the main character is shown standing perfectly still while the background speeds by superfast then slows right down and fades into a blur with everything out of focus except to the principal participant. Skye felt like that, like she was moving as though she was having an out of body experience. She knew she was there but she felt like an outsider too, as if she were witnessing herself and her actions. 

At the sounds of screaming and shattering glass she had turned to see a woman lying on the footpath, her leg at an odd angle and a motor bike on its side near her with its wheels still spinning. In the adjacent street, next to what had been the window of the building on the corner, there laid a crumpled heap of bleeding rider covered in shards of broken glass, his helmet resting about twelve feet away from where he had come off the bike. He hadn’t been wearing it, it had been loosely tied on to his carrier at the back of his bike and flown off when, in an attempt to dodge the drunk that had wandered out into the traffic, the rider had swerved, clipped the bus stop shelter where Skye normally sat waiting for her bus to take her home and in doing so, had knocked a waiting woman onto the ground only to run over her leg before the impact had thrown him from his bike and straight into the window. The scene was a mess. 

‘Oh god… Rolly,’ Skye screamed. ‘Turn off the ignition if it isn’t already off,’ she yelled to him. He was already in the process of running over to do just that and make sure it was safe. ‘You check on the woman, I’ve got the rider. Don’t move her but try to make her comfortable if you can, and ring for an ambulance.’ She ran over to where the rider was lying in a rapidly spreading pool of blood. She checked to see if he was conscious and he was, barely. After checking to see that he was conscious, she tried her best to render assistance. ‘It’s alright, my name is Skye, what’s your name?’ she was asking the prostrate body. He mumbled something incoherent that sounded like Mark. ‘Mark, listen to me, do you know where you are?’ She was rapidly going over his body, assessing what injuries he had and whether or not he was in immediate danger. ‘Mark I want you to listen to me. I want you to lie still while I examine you. There is a lot of broken glass and I don’t want you to move until I have checked to see if you have any in you. Can you do that?’ He mumbled something that sounded like yes in between his groans, his face a mass of blood from a cut under his eye and a nasty deeper one to his temple and on his neck. They were the ones that Skye noticed first and was really concerned with as blood was pouring from them and she wasn’t too sure if there were severed arteries or not. 

In the meantime Roland had taken the keys from the ignition of the bike and made straight for the woman lying groaning on the footpath, calling for an ambulance from his mobile as he did so. Of the few other witnesses that had been present only one had remained to help out, the others not wanting to get involved, had made their way from the scene, leaving things in what they saw as the capable hands of Skye, Roland and a veterinary nurse who had been driving behind the cyclist and pulled over to see if she could help. As she seemed to have things under control with the female patient Roland ran over to see what he could do to help Skye.

‘How is he? What can I do to help?’ he was asking rather breathlessly as he hurried over to where she was now down on the ground with Mark’s head cradled in her lap. ‘I need to try to stop the bleeding, he’s cut pretty badly on his head and neck and there was a shard of glass that has gone into his arm. I have a cotton top in my shopping bag can you fish it out so that I can make a pressure bandage for his arm? Just grab it for me will you, it’s new so it’s clean and anyway, they can worry about any infection once he gets to hospital. The main thing right now is to get that wound packed and the bleeding under control. I don’t want to even think of him bleeding out,’ she mouthed to him so as not to alarm Mark. 

‘The ambulance is on its way,’ Roland told her as he looked at her and he fished around in the bag, having to go through what he saw as sets of lacy knickers and bras to get the top that she needed that was in a separate bag at the bottom of the larger one, his mind on automatic pilot as he did so. ‘Is this is?’ he held it up and she nodded. ‘What do you want me to do?’ ‘Can you tear off the sleeves so that I can fold one into a pad then I will wrap the other one it to keep it secure. That’s the best I can do. At least it is better than nothing.’ She looked down at Mark who now had his eyes closed. ‘Mark, listen to me, don’t go to sleep. Try to stay awake. I think that you have concussion and we don’t want you to fall asleep. Can you do that for me?’

He opened his eyes slightly and nodded. ‘The ambulance is on its way. You can hear them in the distance so not much longer. Can you hear them?’ He nodded a little. ‘Is there someone that you want us to call?’ ‘Call the wife, she’ll be worried, I am late,’ she thought that he said as he mumbled through his clenched teeth, the pain of his injuries kicking in. Skye nodded. ‘You’ve got it mate,’ Roland assured him, ‘just hang in there, won’t be long now.’ The sirens were getting closer and looking down the street they could now see the flashing lights of the ambulance and the police a few blocks away, held up behind traffic. ‘Nearly here mate, you hold on tight. Bet the missus will be waiting for you and you don’t want to let her down now do you?’ He nodded stoically and attempted to smile a little through the pain. 

Within a few minutes the ambulance crews were on the scene with the police and the two patients were getting assessed while Skye, Roland and the vet nurse were all being questioned by the police. ‘We will need you come down to the station and be interviewed,’ the senior constable was explaining to them, then seeing the state that Skye was in they took pity on her. She was soaked through with blood from Mark’s injuries and shivering with cold. Roland too was shivering having taken off his coat and spread it over him to help keep him warm, Skye having feared he was going into shock. 

‘We really didn’t see what happened,’ Roland explained, we just heard it and rushed over to see if we could help.’ The senior nodded, making notes and asking for contact details before telling them that if they could come in sometime on Monday that would be fine and assuring them that Mark’s wife would be contacted as soon as he was on his way to hospital, Skye and Roland looking relieved. 

They went over to where he was now laying on a gurney waiting to be put into the ambulance and reassured him that she would be notified. He was hooked up to a drip and his colour was looking a lot better now, he had lost the sickly grey tinges that his face had taken on and some of the blood had been cleaned up by the ambulance crew so that he wasn’t looking as ghastly as he had been. 

‘You did a great job love,’ one of the crew was saying to her. ‘Is he going to be alright?’ He nodded back, ‘Yes love, thanks to you with that make shift bandage. You a nurse then,’ he asked her? ‘No but I did a first aid course when I was on holidays in Australia after watching life guards revive someone down on the beach.’ He nodded. ‘Well just as well, it sure came in handy tonight. He should be taking out a lottery ticket, he is very lucky that the two of you were here when you were, things could have been a lot different if you hadn’t have been. Well done,’ he said as he handed Roland back his overcoat and tucked the patient into a blanket before lifting him into the waiting ambulance. 

Roland wrapped his coat around Skye. The wind was bitingly cold now and whistling down the street. ‘Come on,’ he said as he put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her into his side. ‘Where are we going?’ He started walking her back to the entrance of the car park. ‘You can’t go home looking like that, your Mum would have a pink fit.’ She looked down and noticed for the first time how much of a mess she looked. God she looked like Sookie after Bill had staked Longfellow she thought, all she needed was masses of goo to be hanging off her to complete the picture. She really looked like she had been in a blood bath. ‘Let’s get you back to my place and get you cleaned up.’ She was about to protest but then she saw the sense in it. ‘Besides, you need a stiff drink. We both do for that matter.’ Skye nodded obediently. Shock was starting to set in and right now all she wanted to do was go somewhere warm and have a hot shower. 

‘Skye, you were absolutely brilliant,’ he enthused, eyes sparkling as he held his car door open for her. ‘You are totally marvellous.’


	31. Chapter 31

The relief of getting into the car and out of the cold wind was palpable. Just sitting down somewhere soft and comfortable felt really good as they were both a bit shaky now. Roland turned on the ignition and the sound system kicked into life, a cacophony of noise that sounded familiar assaulted Skye’s senses. ‘What is that? I know it but it can’t be…’ He laughed a little. ‘That? Oh it’s just a little something my neighbour back in LA put me onto… its Tuvian Throat singing. It’s an acquired taste,’ he grinned as he flicked it onto the next track of the compilation he had made for himself of some favourite music. The next track was softer and calming, it was Moby and seemed somehow more fitting to their jangled nerves as it was so mellow and soothing. 

‘Your LA neighbour put you onto Tuvian throat singing?’ she asked with disbelief in her voice. ‘I’ll fill you in one day.’ She shook her head muttering, ‘No, I don’t believe it. The girls just will go troppo.’ ‘Troppo?’ he laughed. ‘It’s an Aussie saying. I picked it up from my friend. It means,’ she thought a little, ‘a tadpole short of a swamp,’ she laughed. ‘A tad pole short of a swamp?’ he looked mystified. ‘I’m sorry, I am babbling now – it’s just another Aussie saying that I picked up,’ she said embarrassed, ‘I have a million of them and they are all pretty funny. I became quite the Aussie while I was there. I even ate vegemite on my toast for brekkie as they call it in the morning. And I had a pie and dead horse,’ she laughed. ‘A pie and dead horse, god what the hell is that? Do I even want to know?’ She laughed, ‘It’s rhyming slang for a sauce, you have a pie and dead horse, a pie and sauce. But I think that my favourite saying was “I am off like a bucket of prawns in the sun”, I loved that one. I really am babbling now,’ she apologised. Her nerves had kicked in and she was feeling like she had been hit by a truck. 

He was listening fascinated. ‘No you’re not, and even if you were, you have every right to be. You were great tonight Skye. I can’t believe how calm you were, anyone else would have lost their head under the circumstances.’ ‘I think that adrenalin kicked in,’ she said by way of explanation. ‘You just do what you have to do. I remember when I was working part time after school there was a fire out in the back room of the shop that I worked in. The lady that was working there with me totally lost it and went running out into the street to find a phone to ring the brigade even though we had a phone right there next to the cash register behind the counter. She lost her nerve and simply fled but I just went over to where the fire was smouldering, and put it out. Silly sod had left overalls hanging above a hot water urn, you know one of those old antiquated jobs that you see in junk stores, anyway one of the ties had dangled down onto the element and had started the whole lot smouldering. By the time that the fire brigade arrived it was all under control. I didn’t think about it at the time, I just did it. It was some kind of automatic reaction that just kicked in. You know, you just do what you have to do and don’t think, it’s not until later that it all hits you.’ 

She gave a small sigh as that was what was happening to her right now, the effects were starting to kick in and she was starting to feel shaky. They lapsed into silence as he drove; both of them were quietly reliving all that had happened in the last twenty four hours in their own minds. By the time that Roland pulled in to mews where he garaged the car they were feeling a bit spaced out from running on adrenalin for hours now, on top of it being a long and eventful day, coupled with the effects of the incident with Rod the night before. 

Roland got out of the car and was by Skye’s side helping her out in a flash, wrapping his overcoat around her to keep out the biting wind that was blowing in gusts with the promise of rain to come, his finger running gently down her cheek as he pulled the collar up around her neck to protect her. He slung his arm lovingly around her shoulders as they walked through the small walk way next to his home that led to the street frontage. 

As they rounded the side and came out into the street for the first time Skye was able to take in his home. Her mouth dropped a little. From the outside it didn’t look any different to the other semidetached dwellings in the fashionably upmarket street, all painted in traditional white but to Skye’s eyes, any Georgian three story dwelling this close to the business district must be worth a fortune. She gaped in awe at the thought of it but that was nothing to her reaction when they went up the steps and he opened the large ornate front door and she was confronted by the interior.

How different this was to the middle class red brick house that she called home. Yes it was neat and tidy, and yes it was paid for but only after years of hard work and struggle by her Mum and Dad. Given that her Dad was a double glazer and there was always work for him, his business always in demand to install the much needed glazing to keep out the perishing cold of English winters and the traffic noises that were intolerable for those living in the more crowded and less well planned towns, their windows and doors fronting directly onto the streets, having been built in a time when the most noise to be expected was a horse and cart going by on the way to market. Her Father was always busy and that meant that they lived a little more comfortably than others of their class but their income was supplemented by what her Mum earned too, working three days a week at the local post office. With three kids to bring up they needed every penny they earned to put towards giving the kids the kind of education that they wanted them to have. 

It was only recently that with Skye, Paul and Jenny earning a decent wage that her Mum could finally afford to retire. Now with Skye’s ridiculously increased salary she intended to help them out in any way that she could to pay back her parents for all the hard work they had put in to making her life as good as it had been but still, as lucky as she was she knew she was right now, this home was way beyond anything that she could ever imagine being affordable to a family such as hers. 

He had mentioned that he had an apartment but this wasn’t an apartment in the sense of the word. She had pictured some nice swanky flat, modern and all glass and chrome, the kind that seemed to be going up all over the place, catering to the upwardly mobile newly rich young things that were into true apartment dwelling. The kind of place she had imagined was straight out of one of those magazines that showed a converted warehouse type of arrangement, all bare walls and one retro chair sitting on its own, all very trendy but hardly practical. But this, this wasn’t anything like it, or it wasn’t from the outside. There was nothing to give any hint of anything different to the way the building would have appeared if you were driving past in a horse and carriage one hundred years ago, the façade of respectability remaining true to its original architectural design. 

She could imagine what it would have been like back in those times, carriages calling with visitors to the lady of the house. A footman or butler answering the door and escorting the guests to the morning room for tea served on fine china, an ornately tiered stand of cucumber sandwiches and delicately prepared morsels handed around by a gloved maid. Or at night a dinner party complete with beautifully dressed women in rich satins, bejewelled in their finest of gems, the men in dinner attire all looking handsome, sipping chilled champagne and served multiple courses of such delicacies as saddle of lamb, asparagus in aspic, fillet of sole and desserts that would take days to concoct and leaving the scullery maid with mountains of washing up to do as she gazed out of the only small basement window that afforded a view up to the footpath above where she hoped in vein to catch a glimpse of another life. 

All this flashed through her overly excited mind as she stood for a moment while he opened the front door. Fanciful, she thought to herself, picturing another time but it had come as such as surprise to her even being there let alone how different it was to the way that she had pictured things. 

Once inside, he led her down the hall, past closed doors and into the large spacious living room. What a total surprise the contemporary make over was compared to the traditional façade. ‘Rolly,’ she said stunned, ‘this is amazing.’ ‘Do you like it?’ he asked her quickly, as though he was counting on her approval. ‘Like it, why I love it, what’s not to like?’ ‘I can’t take the credit for the layout, but I did do a lot of looking before I found it and fell in love with it the moment that I took the cyberspace tour the agents sent me. It is pretty awesome if I do say so myself and very unusual for a heritage listed building. I don’t know how the previous owner swung getting permission for it and I didn’t want to ask too many questions but all the paper work was in order and quite legal. It actually has the best of both worlds really as the four front rooms have been left in all their original splendour. I’ll give you a guided tour later,’ he smiled.

‘But first things first, you need to get out of those clothes and have a shower. Come on…’


	32. Chapter 32

He took her hand and led her upstairs, past the mezzanine where his desk was and on up to the master bedroom. ‘You will have to use my en-suite, my sister Sarah has been staying on and off with me over the last couple of weeks and she has taken over the main bathroom and she is not exactly the most tidiest of people,’ he sniffed disapprovingly. He wasn’t a clean freak but he did like to keep things tidy. It was just another thing that had caused angst from the very start with Ros. To put it quite bluntly, he had always considered her to be something of a slob and to someone as house proud as Roland was, her sloppy ways were a disaster even though he had been so good and patient with her over the years and never censured her for it. ‘Sarah’s gone away for a few days so she left everything in a mess. I’ll just get you some towels and a robe. Be back in a minute.’ ‘Rolly please don’t go to any trouble for me. I’ll be fine. I just want to have a hot shower and get clean.’ ‘It’s no trouble Skye, no trouble at all. The shower is in there,’ he said pointing, ‘and there’s plenty of hot water so take your time and have a good long hot one. I’ll be right back.’ 

After he had left the room she stood for a few moments taking in the view out of the large picture windows in what to her mind was one of the most beautifully appointed bedroom she had ever seen. The view was spectacular; the whole London skyline seemed to lie at her feet. She shook her head, this was really something, just like him, he was really something too. Looking around her she shook her head again. The room was huge and beautifully decorated, simple, elegant and chic. The centre piece of the whole room was the huge bed that was resting against a wall in front of a massive dressing room lined to the ceiling with built in robes. 

The bed faced the opposite wall of the floor to ceiling windows, its sheer drapes pulled back to afford the stunning view that had taken her breath away. There was a leather chaise lounge over in one corner and in the opposite corner a small table and comfortable looking chair placed near the window so that during the day, if one chose, they could sit and read while taking in the view. 

Her eyes strayed again to the enormous bed covered in a rich silk spread in dark purple, gold and black hues. Matching pillows, cushions and bolsters completed the dressings and complimented the feature wall behind the large leather bed head. Above the bedhead was the most enormous Baroque framed mirror that she had ever seen. It was huge and took up most of the wall. It was carved with an intricate pattern of flowers twining around and around and interspersed with small hearts and cherubs. She had never seen anything so elaborate or large outside of a museum and although stunningly beautiful, she wondered about it as it seemed different and out of place with the rest of the room. It wasn’t until she moved a little that she noticed it was angled so that if lying down it reflected the surface of the bed. She blushed crimson at her realisation and the implications and quickly averted her eyes. 

Down lights gave off a subtle glow and were dimmed so as not to detract from the view over the city. A small beside table sat next to the right hand side of the bed with a decorative beaded brass lamp that she thought might possibly have been of a Moroccan make, the tell-tale cut out design of the brass shade shaped in the form of a minaret giving it away. The only other thing of interest that caught her attention on the bedside table was the book lying there with a bookmark roughly three quarters of the way through it, the title of which made her blush deeply again, embarrassed that she had even seen it. 

She walked into the en-suite and was gob smacked yet again. It was like walking into something from an upmarket luxury hotel brochure. Everything was gleaming chrome, polished tiles and subtle lighting and what wasn’t tiled was mirrored, a full length wall of mirrors reflecting how dishevelled and grotty she was looking as she stood there covered with dried blood all over her, assaulting her weary senses. Oh god, she shuddered at the sight of herself. 

The full force of the last couple of hours came rushing at her as she stood there looking at herself. For a moment her head swam a little and she felt a wave of nausea. She thought that she was going to throw up but it passed and she pulled herself together. She was so tired and all she wanted to do was feel the warmth of a hot shower cleaning away the horrors of the night. She would be fine then, she told herself, she just wanted to get clean, she was in sensory overload.

She quickly stripped off… even her bra had splotches of stains on it and it gave her the creeps now, seeing it lying there on top of the pile of clothes that she had dropped on the floor, not wanting to lay them on the vanity because of the mess they were in. The room was what is known as a wet room. There was no shower cubicle, just tiles and mirrors on the wall, the vanity with its double basins gleaming under the down lights and opposite the doorway, across the whole width of the room, was a sunken bath that had a step leading up to it before you sank down into it. She had never seen anything quite so palatial other than on some life style TV show or in one of those celebrity homes articles in the Sunday paper magazine supplements. It left her in awe as she looked around and thought about how absolutely luxurious the whole place was and how out of place she felt standing there looking so shabby. 

She turned on the shower and stood there for only a few moments before the water was heated. It was one of those new-fangled shower fixtures that you could adjust the spray to suit the mood you were in, spraying out droplets like a rain shower, soft and gentle, or blasting out jets of water like a full body massage. It was incredible and she couldn’t wait to just stand there and let the water massage her now aching muscles.

Just as she was about to step under the spray there was a knock on the door and Roland called out to her. ‘I’ve got you some clean towels and you can use my robe when you get out. Here…’ he opened the door slightly and averting his eyes, he handed her the towels and robe through the gap, his hand touching hers when he passed them to her. The touch was like an electric shock going through both of them in the overloaded state that they were both in. 

‘Thanks Rolly,’ she called out as she turned back to the shower quickly, her body tingling from just that simple touch. In her haste she failed to notice that she hadn’t quite latched the door and it swung open a little, affording him a glimpse of her reflection in the mirrored wall. Her back was towards the full length mirror and her upper body was twisting over to put the towels on the vanity. He turned away abruptly but not before catching a view of her that left him shaken. He couldn’t help but take in the way her buttocks were perfectly formed, her skin gleaming silky smooth just begging to be touched and the side view of her gently sloping full breast crowned with a perfect bud of rose coloured nipple, the view tantalised him before he turned quickly away and walked over to the window to gaze out at the view. 

He gritted his teeth trying not to think of her nakedness but his body wasn’t listening to his head and he soon had a painfully throbbing erection. Steady on old boy, he told himself as he slid his hand into his pants in an attempt to rearrange himself into a more comfortable position, the fabric stretching tightly over him giving him even more grief. 

He had been so absorbed in his thoughts, fighting with the urges that were surging through him and lost to the moment that he hadn’t heard the door open and didn’t notice that Skye was standing in the doorway watching his reflection in the glass of the window as he stood with his back to the doorway. She bit her lip and a wave shot through her as her mind raced when she saw him. She stepped quietly back into the en-suite and called out to him, ‘Rolly what should I do with my clothes, have you got anything that I can use to soak them in?’ She then came out of the bathroom towelling her hair dry, wrapped in his robe and hoping that she had given him enough time to compose himself. He thought that she looked adorable in his fluffy thick towelling robe, fresh and clean and smelling great.

She in turn was feeling strong surges of emotions running through her. After she had dried herself off and wrapped her hair in a towel, she had slipped on his robe and been engulfed by the scent of him impregnated into the thick towelling. She held the collar up to her nose and breathed in deeply. It was like an assault to her senses. It smelt of that evasive aftershave that he wore and mixed with his own muskiness, it was intoxicating. Coupled with her glimpse of him by the window, all her hormones were in over drive, pinging around her body and creating tingling through places that left her skin hot and craving to be touched. 

‘I’ll put them in the washer with a pre soaker and then how about a drink?’ he smiled at her, muttering under his breath, ‘god knows I could use one.’ ‘I’ll do it,’ she said hurriedly, feeling that it was dangerous just to be near him right now when she was feeling like this and his arousal, despite his vain attempts to camouflage it, was still more than apparent. ‘Just tell me where everything is and I can manage. How about you getting changed and then we can have that drink and I’ll have to give Mum a call or she will be worried that I am so late.’

She was settled into the corner of the couch when he came down after having a super quick shower. He was dressed in a faded pair of pale blue jeans and a navy crew neck jumper. She watched him walk towards her moving gracefully. He looked totally gorgeous, he took her breath away and it showed. She couldn’t hide it and she was too tired to attempt to and right at that moment, she didn’t care. ‘What would you like to drink?’ he asked her going over to a large assortment of bottles and glasses on the dining area buffet. ‘Would you have any Southern Comfort and maybe some ice if you have it?’ He chuckled. ‘Don’t tell me, you like it neat with ice? That’s what I drink too.’ She gave a laugh; nothing was going to surprise her after tonight. He poured two drinks and came over and sat down next to her. 

‘To you Skye,’ he saluted her, clinking her glass. ‘No Rolly, to a partnership.’ He sipped on his drink but by now she was so tired and it had been such an exhausting day that she gulped down the drink in one long swallow. ‘I needed that,’ she remarked as she held her glass out to him. He raised his eyebrows but didn’t say anything as he got up and bought the bottle over along with the bucket of ice and placed it on the coffee table in front of them. He poured her another drink and then got up and searched through his comprehensive CD collection, searching for something appropriate before putting it on and turning down the volume. A piano instrumental playing the opening bars of a song softly permeated the room, the melody evoking an ambience that she couldn’t quite put her finger on. ‘What is that, what is that song, it sounds kind of familiar but I can’t place it?’ ‘It’s really old, I found it one night when I was on line by pure chance and just liked it. It’s called The Very Thought of You, it’s by an old crooner - Al Bowlly,’ he explained, looking at her then quickly looking away, ‘I love the melody and,’ he hesitated embarrassed, ‘the lyrics, you should listen to them, they are … interesting.’ 

She was already half way through her second drink when he sat down again. ‘Here’s to Mark,’ she saluted, ‘god I hope that he is ok.’ She sculled the rest of her drink and with shaking hands poured herself another one. ‘Skye, don’t you think that you should take it a bit slower?’ Roland asked as he noticed that she was trembling. ‘He will be alright won’t he?’ she asked in between mouthfuls of her drink, ‘I mean he will be won’t he?’ Roland could see that she was worried, the shock of the events had finally caught up with her and combined with the Southern Comfort, being tired and not eating very much, she was in emotional meltdown. The last twenty four hours had been too much. First the confrontation with Sylvia, then that prick Rod and with work today and now the accident, it was no wonder that she was feeling it all.

‘How about I ring that policeman, he gave me his card, I am sure that he will be able to tell us.’ She nodded gratefully. ‘Could you? I just… I want to know that he is ok.’ ‘Sure thing,’ he reached over and grabbed his wallet off the side table and fished out the card. He got up and picked up his phone from the kitchen bench where he had left it and dialled the number. It took quite some time before he got through but once he explained who he was and why he was calling, the officer advised him that although he couldn’t give specifics, he could tell him that the cyclist was in a satisfactory condition and that his wife was with him and it looked like there would be no major injuries to anything vital. Roland breathed a sigh of relief and thanked him for the information, promising that they would both come down and give statements and hung up. 

While he had been talking he bustled around the kitchen putting together a plate of cheeses, smoked ham, salami, marinated artichoke, olives and various other antipasto delicacies. He was worried about Skye drinking so much when she hadn’t eaten and hoped that this would tempt her. He had noticed that she had poured herself another drink and he was getting really concerned. 

When he finally walked back over to the couch with the platter he found she had fallen asleep. He sat down next to her as gently as he could but she stirred, stretching out of her cramped corner position, drowsily nestling into his chest. ‘Skye honey, come on I think I need to get you to bed. Sweetheart you can’t go home like this. Ring your Mum and tell her you are staying over with a friend then how about you get some proper sleep. You are worn out,’ he said softly to her as he lightly kissed the top of her head, cradling her to him. 

‘Ok,’ she murmured sleepily, ‘whatever you say Rolly.’


	33. Chapter 33

An urgent desire to go to the loo woke Skye. For a moment she had no idea of where she was as she opened her eyes and looked around the semi darkened room. It was a few moments before last night came flashing back to her and she groaned inwardly. The sickening thud of metal against metal followed by the piercing scream and then the sound of shattering glass followed by the blood, all that blood, as the body of the rider lay there helplessly, it all came rushing back. Shock had made her act so foolishly. Whatever had possessed her to get drunk, she cringed. She hadn’t meant to, she just needed to tune out and had over done it. She had fallen asleep, the Southern Comfort on top of everything else had hit her like a ton of bricks and she had been exhausted. Lord what must Rolly think of her she worried? 

Suddenly she was aware that she wasn’t alone in the bed, he was lying there too with his back to her. Oh shoot, his sister had the spare room so of course he would be in bed with her she realised. She lay perfectly still as she listened to the sound of his rhythmical breathing, convincing herself that he was asleep before getting out of bed as gently as she could so as not to disturb him. She wanted to let him sleep for his sake and also because, right now, she didn’t think that she could face him. She had no idea if she had made a total fool of herself but she did have hazy memory of how warm and muscular his chest was as she pillowed her head on him when she was lying on the couch. Oh fuck, she thought swearing at herself and wincing. What have I done? 

She didn’t even remember taking off his robe or getting into bed and the thought of it made her flinch with regret. Maybe he had helped her but her recollections of things were so hazy. She did remember pulling herself together long enough to call her Mum and tell her she had a few drinks and that was staying with a friend overnight, all perfectly true as far as it went, she just hadn’t said that it was a male friend, her boss Roland to be precise, that was all. She was unclear about the details and she hoped like hell she had sounded all right when she had rung otherwise her Mum would be worrying and that was the last thing that she wanted. Looking quickly around she couldn’t see his robe anywhere so she had no choice but to make a dash for it. She made her way to the en-suite picking up her handbag that she noticed on the floor near the bed on her way. He must have bought it up for her and she hadn’t noticed.

After finishing what she needed to do she splashed some water on her face and inspected the damage. Her hair was a mess and she wanted to brush her teeth. She found a tube of toothpaste in the cabinet beneath the vanity. She put some on her finger and did the best she could with it, it was better than nothing and after rinsing her mouth, she reached into her bag and got her brush out. It only took a few moments for her to get her hair back into something that looked better than it had but she vowed never to go to sleep again before thoroughly drying it. Without straightening, her hair cascaded around her shoulders like a golden halo and she hated it.

Shrugging at her image she gave up on it and dipped into her handbag again silently thanking Rolly for his thoughtfulness. She fished around until she found her lip gloss and applied a light coating of the gloss that had a soothing balm in it, slathering it onto her dried lips. She felt better than she had when she first woke but she still felt pretty crusty so she finished off with a quick spray of her signature perfume in the hopes it would give her a lift out of her current dismay with herself. She looked at herself in the mirror again and suddenly realised that she really was standing there in Roland’s home stark naked at six thirty in the morning. This couldn’t be happening she told herself. She had been in bed with him and they hadn’t even kissed once since meeting and yet here she was having spent the night with him but… and it was a big but, nothing had happened she told herself. She didn’t know whether that was a good thing or a bad one. Should she be disappointed or grateful she asked herself?

Then she had an epiphany of sorts, one of those blinding flashes that sometimes occur, coming out of nowhere and hitting her with a thought that had never entered her mind before but now seemed to be the only logical conclusion. He hadn’t kissed her; she would remember that, she knew that was something that she would have indelibly etched into her brain if he had. He hadn’t even really made any kind of move on her, or well not one that would really give any major indication that he had wanted her and wanted to take it so much further than their current relationship. She had lain in bed with him all night and yet even though she had been in a very vulnerable state, he hadn’t tried anything on. She was sure that despite being so messed up last night she would definitely remember it. 

Was he just so nice that he wouldn’t dream of taking advantage of the situation or didn’t he fancy her or, worse still was the thought that had flashed in to her brain. It was a line from a song but she couldn’t place it, something about all the handsome men are gay. She frowned. It tortured her with the clarity of the situation. Was that it, was Roland gay? He never mentioned any women in his life. Had she totally got things so wrong about him? She really didn’t know what to think. 

He had talked of so many things with her, shared so much of himself and yet, now in the cold light of the morning in his wet room, she realised with a sinking feeling that not once had he ever spoken of having anyone in his life. He had shared a little about his sister visiting but he had never spoken of his family before, never really given any indication of his home life, and only vague snippets about his grandmother and his childhood, in fact not really much at all. There was something about him that now seemed to be a mystery, something that despite his nature felt hidden and dark.

And then there was the fact that he always seemed to be so disbelieving that women found him attractive. She had teased him a couple of times about Christine in the coffee shop and the girls in the accounting area and he had looked pleased but embarrassed and never seemed to really consider that what she was saying was true. Was that it, was he gay and that’s why he didn’t think of himself as attractive to women, to her, and that it would make no difference anyway because he was not of that persuasion? Was that why it was important to keep things separate from work? Did he lead a double life and she was like a bridge between the two that kept him grounded to both worlds?

But then why did he seem to like her. Why did he message and Skype with her if he didn’t fancy her? She didn’t understand. All her doubts and insecurities suddenly crashed in on her in wave after wave. She had thought that he liked her, was even turned on by her judging from the glimpse she had when he didn’t see her looking at him in the window reflection last night, but maybe she was wrong. Maybe she had just misconstrued something that was not as it seemed. She wanted him to like her. She wanted him to want her as much as she wanted him. Just the thought of going back into the bedroom and climbing back into bed with him was making her weak at the knees and the thought of him waking up next to her, their bodies lying so close to each other in the morning light, it made her shake.

He was just so dam gorgeous. Not just his hot looks, his eyes that were so blue and penetrating, and not just the way that his hair fell around his ears, the small V shape at the back of his neck just begging her to run her fingers through it. It wasn’t just the way that his lips would curve up at the corners when he smiled with that innocent but seductive look that she sometimes caught when he didn’t know that she had seen him as he looked at her. No it wasn’t just his Mr Sex on a Stick looks, he was one of the most caring and inspiring people that she had ever met. He WAS the most inspiring person that she had met she contradicted herself; she had never meet anyone like him. 

She wanted him and she wanted him to like her, to do things to her, things that she would never admit to anyone. She wanted to experience everything, everything that she had ever read in all the books she had poured over, and she wanted him to be the one to experience things with her. She wanted to be his Sookie and for him to be her Bill, as silly as it sounded to anyone but herself.

She had visions of what she wanted him to do to her and what she wanted to do to him, and just thinking about it always sent a warmth drilling through her but if he was gay, or if he just plain didn’t like her in that way, just wanted her as a friend then … what then? She sighed. Her thoughts were going around and around in her head and none of this was getting her anywhere and besides, she was starting to get cold so she squared her shoulders, picked up her bag and quietly headed back in to bedroom as silently as she could, her whole body shaking at the thought of him lying there when she wanted him so much. 

She slipped back under the warmth of the duvet as gently as she possible, rolling on her side facing away from him because she didn’t trust herself enough not to touch him, to kiss him, the way that her feelings of longing for him were running through her. She couldn't trust herself and that would have been unforgiveable if his feelings were not the same as hers. He had said that first time that they had Skyped that she had bought him back to life but now as time had gone by, she honestly thought that he must have been talking about on a work level, that somehow her enthusiasm had suffused him with inspiration for the company and their goals for its success. She had little or no confidence in her own personal charm and had not the remotest idea of the true feelings she engendered within him. Had she known, she would not have believed it being every bit as humble as he is. 

While she had been gone he had rolled over onto his side so that when she got into bed he was facing the door into the en-suite. His eyes were closed and she assumed he was asleep but only moments after lying down next to him he threaded his arm beneath hers and pulled her gently into him, wrapping his body around her in a protective cacoon. 

‘I thought you were asleep,’ she softly murmured, surprised beyond belief by his touch. 

‘I thought that you had gone,’ he responded quietly. 

‘Do you want me to go?’ she asked with a tremor in her voice, her insecurities getting the better of her again. 

He hesitated, did he want to tell her the truth he asked himself. He wasn’t sure, he just didn’t know if he should risk it but he knew that it was about time that he did. He didn’t want to hurt her, he never wanted to hurt her, she was too beautiful to do that to. 

He mentally shrugged to himself, making up his mind and taking the plunge.

It was time, it was time he told her the truth.

 

End of Book One


	34. Chapter 34

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Book Two

It was time, it was time he told her the truth about how he really felt.

Despite the fact that he had seemed to have taken Ros’s defection in his stride, he was hurt. Leaving aside his misgivings at the time, virtually only falling into the relationship because of the expectations of his Father, he had given their connection a go. He had always treated her with kindness and consideration, been there for her when she needed him and tried his hardest to make it work but truth be told, even though it was not a love match, her defection had hurt him deeply. It had made him feel inadequate as a man and he questioned himself, asking himself if it was his fault despite what she had said, half blaming himself for what he thought was his lack of prowess.

What if he laid his heart bare to Skye only to have the same thing happen? What if he just didn’t cut it as a friend or a lover? What if he wasn’t good enough for her? What if she didn’t even really care for him that way? He thought that she did, he hoped that she did but … could he risk taking a chance, could he stand the rejection? 

He decided it was now or never.

‘Does this feel like I want you to go?’ he softly responded, his voice cracking with emotion. Trembling, he pulled her into his body even tighter so that she could feel his hardness pressing against her. Her body throbbed in response. The doubts that inundated her only moments ago suddenly evaporated into thin air. Everything came sharply into focus for her. All the moments that had thrilled her over the weeks, that only a short time ago she had thought that she must have just been imagining, they all disappeared and all she was left with was right now, right at this moment as his warmth enveloped her, his tight muscular body pressed to her and his hardness pushed against her buttocks, everything became crystal clear. He liked her, he really did. 

‘Do you want to go?’ he whispered into her ear, still unsure of how she felt about him, doubts in his mind plaguing him just as much as her own insecurities had hounded her. His heart was beating fast, his breathing rapid as he waited for what seemed like all eternity for her to say something, anything that would give him an indication of how she felt. He wanted her so much; he wanted to run his fingers through her silky hair, touch her soft velvety skin and to smother her in kisses. He wanted to protect her from morons like Rod and low life like the drunk last night. He couldn’t bear to see her face with the look of fright in her eyes when challenged by Rod, it had torn him apart seeing her dismay over his insulting accusations, not to mention how scared he had been for her safety. And more than anything, more than all else in the world, he wanted to see her in the afterglow of orgasm, eyes misted, lips parted in that special place that he was dying to take her to. 

From the moment that he saw her in the lift, all hot and bothered, tired and disgruntled, passionate and committed, he had been in awe of her. Seeing her every day was a joy and a torment when all he wanted to do was take her in his arms and hold her, keeping her safe and protected and nurtured. Every night he came home and he fought with his feelings. He had been the one that had said they needed to keep things separate and private, and he had stuck to that but at night he would sit and relive every moment of the day that he had been near her or inadvertently touched her, shared her passion for her work, watched her triumphs as they collectively turned the business around and shared precious moments, and it drove him crazy with want for her, being so close and yet so far away from him. 

Now he lay there waiting for her reaction and was so fearful that he had it all wrong, that she didn’t like him and that she would flee, just as he thought that she had when he had awoken to find his bed empty. Right now, as his heart pounded and he lay hoping beyond hope that she would want him as much as he wanted her, he thought back to last night and helping her to bed, taking off his robe and tucking her in. The sight of her nakedness had left him breathless, filled with a desire he had not previously ever experienced. He thought of how he had lain awake for hours next to her just listening to her breathing and how glorious it was to have her next to him knowing that she was safe and no harm could come to her. And he hoped, he hoped like hell that he hadn’t been wrong, hadn’t laid his heart on his sleeve only to be crushed. 

‘Does this feel like I want to go?’ her voice quavered as she placed her small hand over his and moved it to her hardened nipples, thrilled by the response her action had on him when she felt his hardness stirring against her. 

He pulled himself up a little so that he was resting on his elbow looking down at her, his breath catching in his throat at her words and her response. She turned slightly so that she could gaze up into his face. He looked at her tenderly, his face softened by the dawn light as she fell into the two pools of blue that were the window of his soul. ‘You know there will be no turning back?’ he whispered, his heart pounded in his chest. ‘I know.’ ‘Once it’s done it’s done,’ he breathed. ‘Yes,’ she whispered back. ‘Are you sure, I don’t want you to feel pressured?’ She looked into his eyes and saw all the want and desire that she had ever doubted he could possibly feel for her, it existed there in the depths of his eyes and that was enough for her, more than enough. ‘I am so sure Rolly, I have never been surer of anything in my entire life,’ was her husky reply. ‘It will change us you know,’ he warned her, a worried look furrowed his brow. ‘Nothing could ever change the way I feel about you Rolly,’ the sincerity of her words shaking him to the core and stirring his heart like nothing that he had ever felt before in all his life. 

His eyes widened with surprise and pleasure, a small frightened smile played on the corner of his sensuous lips. The depths of his feelings towards her scared the hell out of him. ‘Nothing will ever change the way I feel about you either Skye,’ he whispered, stroking her cheek with his fingers as he lent down and, as tenderly as he could he brushed her lips, pulling back a little to gaze into her eyes. They were staring at each other, holding back their needs until breaking point when, with a flood of desire they could no longer ignore, he leant into her again and met her lips with his. His tongue tentatively flicked her mouth and she responded in kind, her tongue meeting his in a tango of sensual pleasure, lighting a fire within them both that could not be put out until quenched by the fusion with each other’s body. 

With their mouths still locked together she rolled on to her back invitingly. He in turn slid his hand from her breast down over her hips to gently cup her. He felt her wetness and he was elated, his confidence soaring as he stroked her and her body responded. She was ready for him and inviting him to take her. His hand drifted smoothly over her thigh and he parted her legs, lifting himself between them. Taking his weight on his muscular arms, excruciatingly slowly he glided into her. A weak groan of bliss escaped his lips as his substantial manhood was engulfed by her silky warm flesh, his body trembling with desire in her arms. They lay like virgins together, untouched by any other, pure and unsullied, engrossed with an absolute joy for the experience they had waited so long to happen. 

He lay without moving and she opened her eyes to gaze up at his face poised above hers. His eyes were closed and his face wore a mask of determined restraint that she recognised for what it was even before he spoke, barely whispering to her. ‘Don’t move.’ But that was too much for her. At his words her body responded to a need too great to stop and lifting her hips, changing their angle slightly, she too let the tiniest of moan escape her parted mouth as she rocked into him. 

And so with the look of ecstasy and blinding desire on both their faces, leading her through a slow and beautiful moment of definite union, they finally succumbed to the passions that stirred so deeply on that first meeting, relief exploding through them both at the same shattering moment of climactic heaven, leaving them panting and unable to speak, lying in each other’s arms as he lay on top of her, unable or unwilling to break the bond of their ultimate connection. 

When Roland was finally able get anywhere close to composing himself he began to smother her beautifully radiant face in kisses. He kissed her cheeks, her eyes, her nose and her wonderful mouth. He wanted to devour her sweet face, to capture the feeling of her hot flushed skin, the taste of her lips in his memory forever. Imprisoning this spark of awakening close to his heart, to treasure it till the day that he died, he wanted to never let this moment go. He found her soft lips again and crushed his to hers, unable to get enough of her, and she responded in kind. She too wanted nothing more of life right at that moment than to be joined in their coupling forever, to covet this prized match, hiding themselves away from the world in their own private utopia. 

‘What a fool I have been to waste all these past weeks,’ he chided himself, ‘only I wasn’t sure, I didn’t know if you fancied me or not. I wanted you to so very much but I never really believed that a girl as beautiful as you would really like me.’ ‘Oh Rolly, you have to be kidding. I have wanted you for ever but I didn’t think that I would ever really have a chance with anyone like you. I didn’t seriously consider that you really liked me but I wanted you to so badly and then, well I thought… someone as nice as you are, well I thought that maybe you were gay.’ ‘Babes,’ his voice was husky, ‘do you still think that I am gay?’ He rolled his hips in a circular motion, his regenerated erection demanding attention. 

Still joined together, their bodies responded to each other. She felt his hardness within her and he felt the flood of silken milk that was her response, slick and needy to have him again. Nothing could have separated them at that moment. It was theirs to embrace with the fire of passion and desire. Nothing would sate the hunger they had for each other now awoken in a tidal wave of lust, want and ache. He moved swiftly now, no tentative holding back like the first time. This time was carnal, urgent and unescapable. They held back nothing in their appetite for each other, craving that ecstatic moment of frenzy that drove them both to almost whimper the others name as they both reached their climax.

‘Rolly,’ she whispered hoarsely, ‘oh Rolly.’ ‘Oh god Skye,’ he panted. It was only then that they both noticed they were both crying, the bliss of the moment overwhelming them both.


	35. Chapter 35

Tears of happiness trickled down their cheeks as they lay in a tangled mess of arms, legs and spent bodies. ‘Now I know where the saying comes from,’ Skye panted, still trying to get her breath back. Gently lifting himself from her and lying on his side, he looked at her quizzically. ‘What saying?’ he asked perplexed. ‘Don’t move a muscle,’ she smiled at him timidly. He burst out laughing, red in the face realising what she was referring to. ‘I am sorry about that, I….’ ‘Rolly,’ she interrupted, ‘it is the hottest thing that anyone has ever said to me.’ She was smiling shyly at him. ‘Honey, you have no idea what a state I have been in. I … I wanted you from the minute I saw you and even before the button popped on your shirt.’ She groaned. ‘You have no idea how embarrassed I was. And you have no idea how much I wanted you. The dreams that I have had about you, god they would make bestselling pornos.’ 

This statement was too much for him and he couldn’t stop laughing. ‘You are wonderful, do you know that?’ He leant into her and kissed her again. They held onto each other, almost clinging to one another as though they were scared of losing the precious moment, drifting into eternity drowning in the pools of each other’s souls as they gazed at each other unable to speak for fear of their emotions getting the better of them. They were wrapped in each other’s skin, nestling into each other like a perfectly mirrored reflection. 

It was still early so it was understandable when they both fell asleep, their arms wrapped around the other tightly, exhausted by their excursions but sated and more content than either of them had ever been in their lives and so attune with each other that even their breathing was in unison as they slept a dreamless sleep. 

They awoke an hour later lying exactly as they had gone to sleep, in each other’s arms. ‘Good morning babes,’ he smiled at her, his eyes crinkling with happiness just to be looking at her, and then he kissed her a long lingering kiss. ‘It’s real, I didn’t dream it,’ she smiled and stretched out her body rolling onto her side and hooking her leg over his while running her hand through the downy hair on his chest. ‘I love this,’ she gently tugged at the soft hair, ‘it is sex on a stick.’ ‘Oh lord Skye, no one has ever said anything like that to me. You are a dream, you are my dream girl.’

She squirmed with delight as she played with the soft auburn hair on his chest, gently entwining it around her fingers and running her hands through it fascinated by it. He gave a shiver as she brushed his nipples. ‘You know if you keep doing that we are never going to get out of bed don’t you?’ She smiled with satisfaction. ‘That sounds perfect to me,’ and she bent her head and flicked his nipple with her tongue. ‘Oh god Skye, look at what you are doing to me?’ He lifted the sheet slightly and looked down his body to where his swollen manhood lay erect against his muscular stomach. ‘Oh, I think that I can do something about that,’ she was smiling seductively as she purred the words. 

She dove under the sheets but he grabbed her playfully. ‘Oh no you don’t, I have a much better idea. Come on.’ Throwing the sheet off, he took her hand and steadied her as she got out of bed, planting a kiss on her lips and meeting her tongue with his own in a kiss that took her breath away. ‘Now come on, its sodding freezing standing here,’ he laughed and playfully gave her a nudge towards the en-suite, cupping her buttocks in his hands and giving them a light squeeze. ‘You are so bad,’ she turned deliberately in front of him so that he would run into her, making a grab for his erection. ‘Oh no you don’t,’ he laughed and dodged past her and into the shower, turning on the hot water and grabbing his sponge. ‘I want to wash you,’ he smirked at her, ‘come here.’

Skye picked up the wash cloth that was lying on the soap dish. ‘I want to wash you too,’ she grinned taking the bottle of shower gel from his hands and swamping the cloth. ‘Heh, take it easy with that stuff it costs a fortune,’ he objected to the amount that she was squeezing out of the bottle. ‘Rolly I can’t help it, the fragrance of it drives me nuts. If I had my way I would drown you in a vat of this. You wear it layered like this with let me guess, the matching aftershave and deodorant, is that right?’ she asked him. He nodded laughing. ‘I knew it, well anyway when you have it on and it mixes with your scent, your own body chemistry, it drives me insane.’ 

She took a step towards him brandishing the soapy cloth and started to massage his chest in small circular motions, working her way across to the centre then down his torso following his man trail. He stood perfectly still except for his manhood as it gave a jerk in anticipation of what he hoped was to come. She shivered excitedly at the sight of him despite the hot water flowing down her back. He pulled her in to the side of his hip as he looked down watching her hand move towards him. He gave a thrust of his hips hoping that she would move quicker, he wanted to take her again and he was throbbing with desire. 

He ran his sponge filled hand down her back to her buttocks then gently he parted her legs. The frothy bubbles soothing and fragrantly caressing her skin combined with his delicate touch as he slipped the sponge between her legs, making her want him again but she wanted to pleasure him too. She wanted to taste and experience all that she could so she broke away from him and sank to her knees, taking him in her small hands and softly kissing him. He groaned with pleasure, closing his eyes for a moment before looking down to watch her as she plunged her mouth over him and her tongue worked its magic. 

He gave in to his indulgence for a few pleasurable moments and when he could bear it no longer, he gently lifted her to her feet and moved her back towards the tiled wall so that her back was leaning against it for support. ‘I want you. I want to feel me in you,’ he rasped, his mouth searching for hers as he lifted her till she wrapped her legs around his hips and he felt for himself and glided into her. 

She had never done it like that and the sensation that the position gave her was a new experience. Bracing herself against the tiled wall and with her legs wrapped around him, her arms clinging to his neck, she rested her head on his chest as he plunged into her deeply over and over again. She turned her head a little and caught a glimpse in the mirror. She caught her breath and he too turned to watch. She gazed fascinated as he watched too, their eyes meeting full of lusty recognition, his reflected movements were erotic and sensual and compelling them on and fuelling their passions. They watched each other’s expression of ecstasy too as they climaxed hurriedly, the sight of their erotic dance spurring them on to yet another height that neither one had expected. 

She went limp in his arms and his legs shook from the exertion and they both slowly sank to the floor still clinging to each other, the hot water cascading over them. ‘God Skye you are going to kill me.’ ‘Death by sex, sounds good to me,’ she was still breathing hard but looking ecstatic and unbearably happy. She draped her arms around his neck again, nuzzling him and kissed his cheek. ‘You know I am really starting to turn into a prune,’ she laughed. ‘How about some breakfast, then we can plan what we are going to do today, that’s if you want to, if you are not doing anything?’ he asked tentatively, looking at her and hoping like hell that she didn’t have any other plans for the weekend. ‘How about we have a proper wash first,’ she was laughing as she picked up the abandoned sponge and cloth. 

When they were done they stood drying each other off with his large soft bath sheets. That in itself was a danger as she paid particular attention to making sure that all of him was dried off thoroughly. ‘You are such a minx,’ he breathed into her mouth as he kissed her, ‘and I am not going to fall for your charms again, well not for at least another half an hour he laughed.’ She pouted. ‘Are you sure I can’t tempt you?’ She wrapped the towel in her hands around him and he could feel himself beginning to stiffen. ‘You are so very naughty,’ he chided her. ‘But you love it don’t you?’ she laughed. ‘I certainly do.’

He gazed into her eyes and his face became serious and taking her hand he kissed it tenderly, murmuring, ‘Yes, I really do.’


	36. Chapter 36

‘I am afraid that your bra and shirt and skirt are pretty much ruined,’ Rolly said as he came back from retrieving them out of the clothes dryer. ‘If it’s any constellation your knickers are fine,’ he smirked as he held out a pair of deep purple lace hipsters. The smirk on his face was approval enough and she made a mental note to get more of them. ‘I have managed to get you these though,’ he handed her a pair of faded blue jeans that still had a shop tag on them and a cream cable jumper that was also still tagged. ‘I raided Sarah’s room and found these in a shopping bag. I guess she had intended to wear them to the country and changed her mind. I think that they might be a bit too big but they are better than nothing and will do till after we have breakfast and can go get you some clothes. Oh and don’t forget you have those hot bra and panty sets in your shopping bag. I do like black lace and red and purple satin too.’ He was grinning at her. ‘And that bustier….’ He just rolled his eyes. ‘That is so hot.’ She blushed in return and gave him a smug look, making another mental note to revisit the shop as soon as possible but dying of embarrassment that he had even seen them. 

Sarah’s clothes were too big but Roland said that he thought that they made her look extra cute and her blushes at his remark were even cuter. ‘You have to stop saying things like that,’ she was mumbling with a mouth full of scrambled eggs and bacon and toast while sitting at the dining room table tucking into the breakfast he insisted on cooking. ‘Why, it’s true?’ ‘Because when you say things like that I want to do bad things to you.’ He smirked. ‘You can do bad things to me anytime, well within reason. I mean not at work,’ he contradicted himself. She groaned. ‘What?’ he asked looking at her. ‘You know that night that we met I had such a dream about you and work, even though I didn’t think that we would ever see each other again.’ ‘Well come on, details, you can’t leave me hanging like that.’ ‘Well, let’s just say that it was hard to concentrate every time I sat down at my desk the next day,’ and it was her turn to smirk when she saw his reaction. ‘You really are bad aren’t you? You know that I will get hard now every time I get anywhere near you and a desk at work now don’t you?’ 

‘What a pity,’ she said sadly. ‘What do you mean what a pity?’ he questioned. ‘Well if it was the olden days I would have to sit on your lap and take dictation and who knows where that would lead,’ she giggled. He dropped his knife and fork on to his now empty plate, got up and had her in his arms in a flash. ‘Do you know how simply gorgeous you are? Do you know what you are doing to me?’ She melted into his embrace. ‘I don’t but you could always show me,’ she purred. ‘You are incorrigible.’ ‘No I’m not I am …’ she faltered, she couldn’t say what she wanted to say but she didn’t need to, he said it for her. ‘I have never felt like this about anyone. I just want to be with you all the time. I think about you all the time. You are in my head day and night Skye.’ 

‘I haven’t been able to think about anything but you since that first night and I don’t just mean wanting to get into your pants either,’ she half joked in an attempt to keep the emotion out of her voice. ‘You can get into my pants any time you want to you know,’ he crooned to her. ‘Rolly, I haven’t been able to trust myself around you. You have no idea what just the touch of your hand or if you brush past me at work, what that has been doing to me.’ He was thrilled by her confession. ‘It can’t have been anywhere near as bad as what I have been going through. I put the kettle in the fridge the other day then couldn’t find the milk because I had put it the cupboard. That is the kind of state that I have been in. Not to mention that I had to go out and buy all new white shirts.’ She looked at him quizzically as he laughed at himself. ‘I put my purple socks in with the whites and now I have a wardrobe of lilac shirts.’ 

She giggled again. ‘Well I like you in lilac, it suits your colouring but to be honest…’ she frowned a little. ‘What, go on, to be honest what?’ he swallowed and braced himself unsure of what she was going to come out with. She had a really serious face. ‘Well, I do prefer you with no shirt at all.’ He sighed with relief and hugged her even tighter. ‘I told you, you really are incorrigible.’ He kissed her again, softly pressing his lips to hers and running his hand through her hair. ‘I love your hair,’ he was breathing in the fragrance, ‘it is so soft and like silk.’ He let the strands run through his fingers and cupped her face in his hands. ‘Dream girl, what say we go get you some clothes then if you want to, what say we head out to the country? I promised you a drive in the country. We could make a weekend of it if you aren’t doing anything that is and … if you want to?’ ‘I am not doing a thing and I would love to. I will have to ring Mum though and let her know that I won’t be home. Do you think that we could get a booking for somewhere nice?’ ‘Sure that won’t be a problem, trust me. I know just the place.’ 

‘I do trust you Rolly, I have never trusted anyone the way that I trust you.’ He was still holding her in his arms as she spoke and running his hands down her back for support, he bent her over backwards in a Hollywood style embrace and locked his lips with hers. He kissed her deeply, passionately, pouring his heart into her and leaving her breathless. Their kiss was a combustible thing firing the two of them with their feelings for each other. When they finally broke apart they were both panting. ‘Oh lord Rolly,’ she looked into his eyes, ‘what you do to me.’ He broke out into a grin and cocked an eyebrow at her. ‘I could say the same thing Skye, what you do to me too,’ he smirked as he ran his fingers down her cheek and caressed her face before running a fingertip delicately over the outline of her lips. ‘Soft,’ he murmured, ‘so very soft and sexy as hell.’

She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and ran her hands up through his hair, and just as she had been dying to do since the moment she saw him, she curled her fingers through the small V shape of hair at the back of his neck, sighing as she did so, a look of ecstasy on her face. ‘I love this,’ she gently tugged at his hair, ‘I have wanted to feel this since we met. It’s so soft and sensuous. You really have no idea just how much you really are sex on a stick do you?’ ‘I don’t see myself like that but if you do, then it is only because that is how you make me feel. You make me feel like anything is possible Skye. I told you before; you have woken me up, given me a reason to get up in the mornings. I was sleep walking through life and you changed that all from the moment that I met you.’ 

The sincerity of his words touched her so deeply she couldn’t speak. It was as if everything that she had ever hoped for was coming true. This is what she had wanted too from the moment that she had met him and now she was overcome by how very relevant his words were. ‘I have never met anyone like you. I never dreamt that I could meet someone as caring and committed and passionate as you are. I told you too that I had never lived before and I meant it. You have given me a life, a whole new world and it is brilliant and exciting and beyond my wildest dreams. I am alive and living the dream now and it is all because of you.’ 

Her eyes were shining with a light that matched the one she saw in his. They stood there staring at each other locked into a gaze that went on and on before he reached out and breaking the spell, he took her hand and kissed it softly. ‘We have some shopping to do don’t we and you need to ring your Mum? Come on, get your bag and let’s get going,’ he smiled.

He had plans and he couldn’t wait to see her face when she saw them.


	37. Chapter 37

‘You look gorgeous,’ he turned to her taking his eyes off the road for a moment and smiling at her. The wind was whipping her hair around her face in a shimmering halo of gold and she was beaming at him. She sighed. She really was in a dream. After finishing breakfast, doing the dishes and making the bed, he grabbed an overnight bag and threw a few bits and pieces into it, including her lingerie purchases from the day before she noticed, and they made their way back through the mews to his garage. He pressed on the remote and the doors slowly slid up. She had been in such a state the night before that she hadn’t even noticed that the Virage was not the only car housed there. Next to it stood a deep navy coloured convertible. Her mouth dropped open as she drooled and she gave him such a look that he nodded laughing. ‘Right, looks like it is the V V then.’ ‘The V V?’ she queried. ‘Vanquish Volante,’ he smiled smugly watching her reaction. ‘Oh my stars!’ She was impressed beyond words. 

They had gone shopping, picking up a pair of jeans that fitted her, a matching pale denim shirt and a thick woollen jacket in a beautiful deep midnight navy colour that matched the one he had casually thrown in the boot of the car with the overnight bag. He had insisted that she take the thick cable jumper that had been Sarah’s as he said she looked terribly cute in it and where they were going would be colder than down there in London. He picked out a pair of boots for her and at the last minute he ducked into another shop on their way back to the car, telling her to wait for him but not telling her why. He was all smiles when he came out, grabbing her hand and was swinging it like a little kid. ‘Just what have you been up to?’ she questioned him but got nothing out of him other than being told to wait and see. 

He made one last stop before they finally hit the road, running into another shop that looked something like an up market delicatessen and returning to the car with a very large wicker basket that he deposited in the boot with the rest of the luggage. ‘Right, let’s hit the road and I will show you what this baby can do.’ He was grinning and his smile was infectious and she laughed with excitement. ‘I can’t wait,’ she was almost glowing. ‘Oh Skye,’ he leant over and kissed her, ‘you have no idea how happy I am,’ he murmured into her mouth. ‘You have no idea how happy you make me,’ she replied breathlessly. He broke off from gazing at her, shook his head and turned the ignition on, the car firing to life. 

The traffic was lighter than they thought and they made good time out of the city. She didn’t have a clue where they were going, he wouldn’t tell her, he wanted it to be a surprise and to be honest, she didn’t really care where they were going as long as she was with him and they were together. Even though the day was a little overcast there was no threat of rain so they drove with the top down and the wind in their hair. It was exhilarating. Everything about him was exhilarating and took her breath away. She kept pinching herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming, she never thought that she could be this happy. 

He was humming to himself as he drove; all the songs he had chosen on his ipod were favourites and had a special meaning to him. All of them reminded him in some way or other of her and his feelings for her. It was almost a diary of their time since meeting each other. The night of their first encounter, while trying to get some work done and not succeeding, he had been playing Beautiful Stranger over and over again. It seemed to sum up how he felt that first night. Then as time went on other songs took his fancy so slowly the folder on his ipod, that he had named Skye, had gradually filled with various pieces that he played to himself hoping that one day, if he was very lucky, he would get to play them to her. And now, here he was, with her beside him and the weekend ahead of them. He was happy. He was the happiest that he had ever been and it was because of her. He reached over for her hand and brushed his lips across her fingertips and smiled. ‘You look gorgeous,’ he said, ‘we’ll pull in soon for some lunch. We still have a fair way to go.’ 

They had been driving for over two hours now and all she knew was that they were heading north. She was entranced by the country side. She had been up north to visit cousins but had always travelled by train, never by car and never through the country lanes that he had turned on to miles back, so each bend in the road bought new vistas of delight as the road twisted and turned throughout the green country side. 

When he took her hand and kissed it a sharp pang of desire spread through her and she instinctively held onto his fingers, gently stroking them and running her thumb along the back of his knuckles. His breath hitched a little at the sensation and he gripped the steering wheel a little tighter with his other hand in an effort to concentrate on his driving as she continued to lightly run her fingers over his, biting his bottom lip as he felt himself stiffen just from her touch. He gave her hand a squeeze then moved it back on to the steering wheel in an attempt to focus but she had left her hand on his thigh and continued to gently stroke him. ‘Nearly there,’ he said, his voice breaking and he took a right hand turning onto yet a smaller and narrower lane. 

She looked at him smiling innocently as she ran her hand further up his thigh. He squirmed a little, his jeans now tight and uncomfortable and he had to lift his hips in attempt to get into a more comfortable position. She looked down at him and seeing the cause for his discomfort she licked her lips and smiled a little. ‘Do you need a hand?’ She murmured seductively. ‘Oh god Skye,’ he almost pleaded with her, ‘you are so going to get it,’ he responded staring straight ahead looking for the small cutting that he was headed to and thankfully spotting it about five hundred yards in the distance. 

He pulled in and drove another minute or so then stopped the car amidst a secluded forested picnic spot. It was a stunning place with a view of a heavily treed gully leading up to a waterfall, lush green ferns and magnificent rocky outcrops intermingling with thick green forest surrounded them. 

The moment that he cut the engine he had her in his arms. ‘I want you. I want to take you, right here, right now.’ He looked at her and she could see that he was burning for her as much as she was for him. He jumped out of the car, hurriedly opening the boot and grabbing the picnic basket that he had picked up, the thick tartan rug that he kept in the car and a small gift wrapped box that he placed carefully in the basket. ‘Come on,’ he said as he opened the car door and took her hand, ‘I want to show you something.’ 

Winding his arm around her and carrying the basket in the other, he led her up a rough rabbit path until they came to a level area behind one of the outcrops of rocks. It was stunningly beautiful. In front of them was a pool of water that reflected everything around it perfectly. To the left the noisy stream continued its way up the various steps of the falls and to the right it cascaded its way down over yet more steps until it flowed down to join another river miles further down. 

Putting the basket down, he spread the rug on a patch of dried bracken that was soft and pliable, a make shift mattress for them. He took her in his arms as they stared around like two children lost in a paradise of their own before he kissed her, crushing his lips against hers as his hands began to undo the buttons of her shirt. She met his lips with a fiery intensity that shook her, her hands running down his body, fumbling in her haste to undo the buckle of his belt and the button of his jeans. They broke apart panting only long enough to hurriedly strip their clothes off, headless of their surroundings now. All they were aware of was each other and the need that they had to feel their bodies locked in a dance of their own making. 

She laid down first on the rug, holding her hand up to him as her eyes skimmed over his body taking in every inch of him. She licked her lips as she looked at his soft covering of downy hair trailing down to the thick thatch that was the place of such pleasure. Her breath quickened and she gazed at his erection standing upright against the tight muscles of his belly, almost purple in colour so great was his need for her and her body gave one of those twinges that made her wet and ache and shiver all at the same time. 

He dropped down to his knees in front of her and she reached out her hands, needy to feel his hardness and stroke him, and to cup him in both her hands and gently, ever so gently, lift them to feel their fullness, groaning as she did so. ‘Oh,’ his mouth formed a perfectly round shape of almost ecstasy as she gave just the tiniest of squeezes and she rested them in the palms of her hands. ‘God Skye,’ he panted, ‘I want you so badly. I need you so much.’ Her eyes glazed over at his words, her nipples tightened to pink mounds aching to be touched, to be kissed. She arched her hips up a little instinctively at his words and he was lost to her. They were lost to each other. 

The rest of the world went on as it should but for our two lovers, time stood still in a shattering moment of orgasmic fulfilment.


	38. Chapter 38

Patches of blue sky sailed through the branches of the tree canopy above them as they lay looking up the sky, holding each other in their arms, fully sated for the moment and embracing the time before the world began to exist again. ‘Thank you,’ he said emotionally. She turned and looked at him questioningly but she didn’t say anything, reluctant to break the spell. ‘This has been a dream of mine since I don’t know when,’ he said by way of explanation. She looked at him in wonder as she rolled over onto her side and began to stroke his chest hair soothingly. ‘In all this time you’ve never bought anyone else here?’ He shook his head. ‘No, it was a dream, a special dream and I … I wanted it to be perfect, I have always wanted it to be perfect before ever coming here. And it was.’ She leant into him and kissed him. ‘I am honoured and touched that you would share something so precious with me.’ 

He reached up and brushed a strand of hair out of her face, running his fingers delicately down her cheek and tracing the line of her lips with his fingertips as he gazed at her. ‘Beautiful, you are so beautiful Skye, you don’t have any idea of how stunningly gorgeous you are do you?’ She looked down and then looked at him again. ‘No, I don’t. I don’t see myself like that. I never have and I guess that I never will but with you, you make me feel like… what was that old song, I can’t think of who sang it but you make me feel like a natural woman, if that makes sense.’ ‘Carol King, off the Tapestry album,’ he nodded thoughtfully, ‘I know the one that you mean.’ His eyes ran over her face, drinking it in. ‘To me you are a natural woman. You glow Skye, you have an aura about you that shines out, that everyone can see. You make everyone want to smile and me most of all.’ He reached up and pulled her down onto him, kissing her and running his hands down to her breasts, gently flicking her nipples till they were hardened and then skimming down over her hips, his hands moved across her skin to squeeze her buttocks, gently pulling her across so that she was lying straddling his body with hers. 

The sound of a stifled giggle startled them and Rolly quickly reached over and threw the other half of the rug over them to cover them. Looking over in the direction of the noise, they saw two teenagers, a boy and a girl of about seventeen, peering around the rocks. How long they had been there they didn’t know but it must have been a while for as they were spotted, they looked at each other and blushed then kissed seemingly passionately and a little defiantly, and then in a blink of an eye they took off arm in arm. Rolly and Skye smirked at each other. ‘I hope that they enjoy themselves. I am betting they will be at it like a couple of rabbits within the hour. Boys at that age are all raging testosterone and think of only one thing,’ he smirked. Skye gave a snort and lifted up the blanket to peek at him. ‘Boys at that age?’ she raised her eyebrow, ‘seems to me that you are doing a pretty good job of raging testosterone yourself aren’t you? And heh, girls at that age are pretty hormonal too you know.’ ‘Well what’s say your hormones get together with my testosterone and we see what happens?’ ‘I do like the way that you think but don’t you think that it might be getting a bit late and umm … a bit risky?’ Rolly gave a mock sigh of frustration. ‘You’re right. We need to get dressed then how about that picnic I promised you? And besides,’ he teased, smouldering at her, ‘there’s always later.’ 

They sat eating and talking and just breathing in the green of the forest and moisture of the waterfall. After packing up, Rolly led her up through the trees on a long ramble till they hit a path that took them to them top of the falls where the desolate remains of an old mill stood, a sign covered in graffiti announcing Lumsdale Falls at the side of the lookout. The atmosphere of the place over took them as they looked down from the viewing platform, watching the magic of nature unfolding next to the ruins of man’s attempt to tame it. It had a rugged beauty, the magic of the place not lost on either of them. ‘I used to come here a lot when I was a kid. My Grandma used to bring me here. She sat just over there and would do charcoal sketches of it all. She never got sick of it because she always said that the waterfall was like a living thing, it was always changing depending on what season it was. In summer it was smaller and lazier than the raging torrents in winter or spring with the snow melts. It was magic as a kid and you have made it even more magical for me.’

‘It sounds like you loved your Grandmother a lot,’ Skye remarked as they were back in the car and had been driving for another few hours. ‘She is the only one of the family that really understands me, that really accepts me for me and lets me be who I really am,’ he replied with feeling and perhaps a touch of bitterness. Skye turned to look at him. He was concentrating on the road so he was in profile to her and she studied his face. There was something a little grim about him as he pondered some unspoken thought but she let it rest, she didn’t want to delve into where ever he was on the off chance that he didn’t want to share. The only other time she had seen him look like this way was the other day when he was dealing with Sylvia. It was a layer of him that she didn’t know and wasn’t familiar with but it made her wonder what was behind it. 

She sighed and stretched. He turned for a moment and looked at her and smiled a little. ‘Not far now. Tired?’ ‘A bit,’ she smiled back; his mood seemed to have passed away and he was back to the Rolly she was familiar with. ‘I thought that we could grab some dinner at a little place I know. Save cooking when we are both tired. Is that ok with you?’ He took her hand and kissed the back of it. ‘Sure, that sounds perfect,’ she squeezed his hand and despite keeping his eyes on the road, she could tell he was smiling again and it made her feel good. 

The restaurant was small but crowded. It was lovely. For a small provincial town it was remarkably up market in décor, intimate and yet classy with a nice ambience to it. When they had walked in Roland had been greeted like a returning prince. They had literally just walked through the door when, in a flurry, a dark haired beauty had come running over and flung herself into his arms, kissing him on both cheeks. ‘Roland,’ she shrieked, ‘where have you been, it has been so long? Let me look at you, you look sensational but then you always have. You know you are the most drop dead sex pot on this planet,’ she purred at him, running her hand down his cheek and giving him a smack on his buttocks. Much to Skye’s disgust he just stood their grinning like a Cheshire cat at her while she ogled him. Skye just wanted to scratch her eyes out.

She was shocked at herself. Never in her whole life had she ever felt like that about anyone, not even Sylvia when she pushed all her wrong buttons. God what is the matter with me, she thought as she stood there stony faced looking on. At that point a small rather mousy but pleasant looking girl joined them, wrapping her arm around the darked haired beauty and kissing her on the mouth. ‘Margo are you going to keep hogging our favourite customer to yourself or are you going to let me at the boy, it has been so long Roland, it is really good to see you,’ she smiled a delicious smile up at him and pecked him gruffly on the cheek. He turned to Skye, wrapping his arm around her and drawing her into him. ‘Skye these two ladies are the best entrepreneurs in the whole of the county and they are my dear friends. Ladies – Margo, Lilly, this beautiful creature is my girlfriend Skye,’ he smiled proudly.

Skye’s knees went weak. She thought that she was going to pass out. His girlfriend! Oh my god.


	39. Chapter 39

‘She’s beautiful,’ Lilly said to him and stepped forward and kissed Skye. ‘Welcome to our humble little establishment,’ she smiled. Margot looked Skye up and down then looked at Roland quizzically. ‘Now how on earth did you manage to snag such a beauty? No offence Roland darling but it sure isn’t like you, well done, she is a darling thing,’ and she too pecked Skye on the cheek. ‘Now come on, the two of you look famished so just leave it up to us. Stephen,’ Margo called over to a young buck that was waiting on tables, ‘table eight please and take care of them, they are precious.’ Margot patted Stephen’s backside as he turned. ‘Our latest acquisition, isn’t he to die for? Like a young god, just take a look at him, and he fucks all night.’ Lilly nodded as she looped her arm through Margo’s. ‘Both of us,’ she said huskily. Skye looked at Rolly a little shocked. He rolled his eyes at her then laughed and shrugged and taking her hand, they followed the beautiful Adonis over to their table. 

The meal was superb, the food everything that he had promised her it would be. As they sat eating, Roland explained how he had come to know Margo and Lilly years before at university and how they had come up with the idea for the restaurant and he had bank rolled them. She wondered where he had gotten the money to finance them when he was so young but didn’t ask as he was explaining that they had paid him back in only a few years and well within the projections he had given them for the loan repayments, insisting that he wouldn’t take any interest regardless of how much they argued with him. Consequently, as their business built up and flourished, they always made sure to take care of him any time he dropped in. They knew that they owed everything to the start that he gave them. 

The two girls had met at boarding school and been inseparable since. They loved each other passionately but they also loved to have good looking guys around to share. They were open minded and liberal and expected to be accepted for the way they were. Skye looked at him questioningly as he held her hand across the table. She looked uncomfortable. He frowned a little. ‘What is it?’ he asked her. She went red. ‘Were you… did you….’ she couldn’t ask him, it was none of her business really. His eyes never left her face as he realised she wanted to know if he had once been one of their bright young lovers. ‘Would it make a difference if I had?’ She shook her head immediately. ‘No of course not, I … I just wondered that’s all. I mean you never talk about your past. You have never mentioned having anyone. It’s really none of my business.’ 

His eyes softened as he looked at her but she dropped her eyes and looked away. ‘Skye, look at me,’ he said and squeezed her hands gently. ‘No, I was never their lover.’ She let her breath out, not aware that she had been holding it in till he answered. ‘I knew that scene and hung around it but was never part of it. Not because I disapproved or anything because I don’t, I believe that any kind of loving is good loving if it is between two consenting adults. Who am I to judge anyone on their standards, it is all personal choice. But I wasn’t in to that, not in the way that I think that you are thinking, besides,’ he chose his words carefully, ‘I had a lot of studying to do and didn’t have much time to … enjoy myself,’ he frowned, a touch of bitterness in his voice, ‘I’ve never really had much …’ He stopped abruptly as Stephen the Adonis approached right at that moment to clear the plates and offer dessert. 

‘Would you like some dessert?’ he asked her, still holding her hand he brushed his lips across her fingertips, his eyes sparkling with amusement as he watched the effect this seemed to have on her, unable to take his eyes away from hers, his mood seeming to lighten. Stephen smirked at this scene and murmured he would come back in a bit, giving them some time to think about it. She gazed back at him before answering huskily, ‘Yes I would love dessert but the only dessert that I want isn’t on the menu,’ she licked her lips and ran her eyes over his face. His breath caught in his throat and his eyes widened a little at her boldness and promise of things to come. ‘I think that I can accommodate you as far as that goes babes. Shall we go?’ She gave a small nod and he was on his feet and at her side almost immediately. 

‘It was lovely seeing you again Roland. Are you staying for a while?’ Lilly asked as they made their way out. ‘No, just up overnight then back to work on Monday,’ he explained. Margot gave a snort and a wink. ‘Staying at “The Cottage” are we? Really Roland you are such a killer.’ He frowned a little. ‘Oh dear boy don’t give me that, you know what I mean. And please, put your wallet away, you know that we won’t accept a penny from you, lord knows we owe you the shirt off our backs. Skye,’ Margo turned to her, ‘it was lovely meeting you. Please take care of our dear boy, he is a precious treasure to us. Roland, you have found a keeper here,’ she nodded towards Skye, ‘don’t let her slip through your fingers old thing.’ There were hugs and kisses all round and then finally they escaped and were on the road again. 

Skye yawned as they drove a few miles out of town and turned in at some large stone gates. It was dark and she couldn’t see a thing except for the outline of the treed drive that lead up to what she presumed was some kind of little country cottage that for some reason seemed to have amused Margo. As they swept around a bend in the drive she saw why the thought of “The Cottage” would have amused her. Calling a five bedroom, double story Tudor mansion a cottage in anyone’s eyes would be ludicrous but to Skye’s middle class eyes, it was an extravagance. She was stunned. ‘Rolly, umm … who owns this place?’ She was sitting there gob smacked. He looked embarrassed. ‘It belongs in the family,’ he said brusquely. ‘Look, it’s no big deal all right? It is really falling apart and it has been handed down through generations. It belonged to my Grandmother’s side of the family and now it is sort of communal, we have an obligation to look after it. Please don’t make a big deal of it Skye, it’s not really who I am but I did want to bring you here as I spent a lot of my childhood here and I wanted to share it. It is really quite lovely when you see it for what it is. Ok, are you ok with that?’ he asked anxiously. 

She nodded. She was fine with that, it had just come as a shock to her. She didn’t know why but she had thought that they were going to a bed and breakfast but when Margo had mentioned the cottage she took it literally and had pictured some small little cottage with low ceilings, beams and one or two poky rooms on the ground floor with damp draughty attic bedrooms, and certainly not a decaying Tudor manor house. ‘Rolly I am fine with it really. You know I would be fine in a tent as long as I was with you,’ she murmured quietly as she gazed at him. He melted and gently tipped her chin up to him to meet his lips. ‘I’ll get the bags.’

She had half expected Rolly to appear with candles when he had told her to wait under the entrance portico, instead of the light going on above her head. He ushered her in through the massive oak door into a huge expanse of hallway. Rooms lead off to the left and right but he took her hand and leading her passed a beautiful wide stair case, complete with ornately carved balustrade, they made their way into what appeared to be a modern extension that had been added recently to the back of the house. It was a huge room that had a large open plan kitchen to the left and a dining come living area to the right. In keeping with the period, it had large stone flags for flooring, the living area was completed with huge soft thick red Persian rugs that you sank into and the lighting was subtle and warm. Comfortable red leather couches piled high with large scatter cushions were surrounding a coffee table and all grouped around a huge fireplace, set and ready to be used. 

‘It’s gotten chilly, shall I light the fire, I thought we could have a night cap sitting in front of it and some dessert?’ He made dessert sound like the most delectable treat that you could ever imagine and she smiled. She nodded as she strolled around looking at bits and pieces on the book shelves and large sideboard along the walls. On the far right of the room there was a huge expanse of windows but the night was dark and she couldn’t see much. She couldn’t wait till the morning to see what the view was like as she had the feeling that it would be pretty spectacular to have gone to the bother of including such large and imposing windows.

The fire crackled into life and she walked over and stood next to him. He turned and looked at her, his eyes shining in the firelight as he brushed her hair back out of her eyes and took her face in his hands before kissing her. Her arms wrapped around him and she drew him into her as she deepened the kiss, clinging onto him as if there was no tomorrow. They stood moulded together for moments, hours, days, losing track of time in each other’s arms. Their tongues met, teasing and caressing, dancing together, firing passions that fuelled every nerve in their bodies until they were breathless and only the need to breathe stopped them. Between the heat of the fire now flaming away and the heat of the passionate embrace, he was on fire so he stripped off his jumper and undid a few buttons of his shirt. ‘I’ll get dessert,’ he said, his chest heaving. 

‘Yes please,’ she croaked, watching him as he moved away and she stood there staring after him, totally mesmerised by him.


	40. Chapter 40

‘Chocolate or vanilla,’ he asked over his shoulder as he made his way to the kitchen. ‘Vanilla,’ she called out automatically, thinking that he was joking until she saw him opening a cupboard and bringing out a bottle of some kind of dessert sauce. He then got out a large old fashioned tall glass just like you see in B grade movies when the local gang descend on the drug store and order sundaes. He then moved silently over to the huge stainless steel fridge in the corner that she hadn’t noticed, fishing out a tub of ice-cream. He scooped out three enormous balls of it and put the remnants back in the freezer then he drizzled the sauce over it all and placed a long handled spoon in it before reaching her side and handing it to her. 

He gathered a stack of the large cushions from the couches and piled them on the floor in front of the fire and taking her free hand, he pulled her down beside him. ‘I texted Mrs Lucas while I was waiting for our hamper this morning and made sure that everything was stocked up. She and her husband Joe live here during the week. He is restoring the stables and she is doing the garden. I can’t wait to show you. It is going to be a proper replica of a kitchen garden from Tudor times. It’s awesome. They spend their week here then at the weekend they take the horses and go to their daughter or sons homes to watch over the grand kids, have some family time and let the kids ride around for hours. It exercises the horses and the kids have fun and adore Beren and Luthien,’ laughing when he saw the look of recognition at the names. ‘Yes guilty, I named them, I am a Tolkien tragic,’ he admitted before going on. ‘They are really good people, they love this place as much as I do and she is so kind. I didn’t know what you would prefer so I asked her to get in a few flavours and she did. There is strawberry there if you prefer it. I am a vanilla kind of person myself.’

He took a spoon full of ice-cream and sauce and held it out to her. She opened her mouth and tasted it. ‘Oh, that is so good.’ She licked her lips in delight and watched as he ate a mouthful. ‘It’s to die for isn’t it?’ She nodded. ‘Here, let me.’ She took the spoon from him and took another mouthful and slowly licked the spoon as she watched him before feeding him another mouthful. The spoon went back and forth between them, each time they watched each other’s face as they took in the sensuality of it all. As she got towards the bottom of the glass, the ice-cream had melted into the syrup and was runny. She scooped out more and just as she lifted it to his lips she very deliberately tilted it so that the syrupy goodness spilt down onto his chest where his shirt was open. ‘Oops,’ she purred, ‘now look what I have done.’ 

He watched her as she put the glass down on the side of the hearth and parted his legs so that she kneeled in front of him. She ran her finger down his chest, smearing the sauce on to her finger and then raised it to her lips, licking the drip as it ran down her finger and into her mouth. He drew his breath in but didn’t move. She leant forward and unbuttoned the rest of his shirt and gently drew it apart exposing his chest and stomach and that delicious trail that she was mesmerised by. Slowly she moved her face closer until he could feel her hot breath on his skin and with a suddenness that left him immovable, she licked the remainder of the syrup from him before moving her attention to his nipples, taking one first then the other and sucking on them until they hardened. 

Slowly she moved down his torso, her tongue following the line of his trail, kissing him softly until she came to the waistband of his jeans. She drew her breath in when she realised that his hardness was almost peeping out of the top as his jeans were loose about his hips. The sight thrilled her beyond measure. After their afternoon encounter he hadn’t bothered to put his belt back on and she had noticed earlier how his jeans slipped down and hugged at his hips, all his manly goods showing off to his best advantage. She undid the button and slowly slid down the metallic zip, the sound like erotic music to her ears. He raised his hips to let her slide his jeans down, his erection spring forth, pulsing with excitement. 

Teasingly she didn’t touch him; instead she began kissing the top of his thighs, burrowing through his fur, running her tongue along his hips until he was beside himself with desperate need. When she thought that he couldn’t stand it anymore, she leant down and kissed him and ever so gently ran the tip of her tongue over him. His hips bucked with desire and he let out a loud groan. Her hand wrapped around his erection to hold him steady as she ran her lips down him, kissing and teasing him up and down his length before parting her lips and finally taking him in her mouth. He jerked involuntarily and gave a thrust of his hips as her warm tongue caressed him. 

Suddenly his hands were all over her frantically undoing her jeans and sliding them down her silky skin, reaching at the buttons of her shirt and almost tearing them off in his haste to get her naked in front of him. He lifted her onto him so that she was straddling his hips, holding himself upright as she sank down and he was buried deep within her wetness, touching that secret place that bought exquisite pleasure. Their bodies melted into a synchronised rhythm of sensuality as she lifted herself up and plunged down on him, meeting his thrusts until they met in unison in a blindingly shuddering rush of bliss. 

She collapsed on top of him, dropping onto his chest and lay there like a dead thing except she was panting for breath and shaking with tiny waves of aftershocks that spiralled through her. He held her closely to him, reeling from the intensity as he too shook with exertion and exhaustion. ‘I have never had so much sex in my whole entire life,’ she whispered into his chest. She felt his chest rumble with laughter. ‘Neither have I,’ he was laughing, ‘and never ever as overwhelmingly shattering as this,’ he admitted, stroking his hands down her back. ‘What you do to me babes, what are you doing to me? I can’t get enough of you.’ She raised her head and looked into his eyes. ‘I can’t get enough of you either,’ she whispered. 

The fire was dying down now and she shivered a little. ‘I think it’s time we got to bed don’t you?’ She looked down at him and nodded, a small smile creasing her face. ‘To sleep Skye, I am not superman you know.’ She giggled. ‘Oh I don’t know about that, you sure have some super powers over me if you ask me,’ and she ran her hand over him. ‘You know you are so bad,’ he smirked, ‘but I do love being bad with you.’ She looked at him with liquid eyes and softly whispered to him, ‘I just love being with you.’ 

He took her hand and with the other he gathered up their clothes and led her upstairs, turning to the right on the landing that led to what he explained was the east wing of the house and then up another short flight of stairs. They walked down a passage to the very end and he opened the double doors for her, turning on the lights as he did so. The room they walked into was stunning. Everything from the ornate original plaster work on the ceilings to the huge four poster bed with is richly carved bed head complete with cherubs and a cornucopia of fruit being delicately nibbled on by two exquisite fauns. 

Rich damask in a deep burgundy and gold hung down each post from the canopy above and the thick heavy cover on the bed looked warm and inviting. The drapes at the mullioned windows were drawn and the whole room had a resounding opulence to it that she had never experienced before. In a corner there was a small writing bureau with a comfortable but worn chair drawn up to it. There was a large guilt mirror on one wall that, with surprise, she recognised to be a matching replica of the one hanging in his bedroom in London. On the wall opposite to the bed, above the most exquisite fireplace she had ever seen, was a huge portrait, done in the style of the old masters, of an angelic looking boy of about seven sitting by a pond with a terrier by his side looking adoringly up at him. 

She walked over and stared up at the painting. There was something so sweet, almost breathtakingly beautiful about the face of the child, the way the curve of his innocent lips creased his chubby cheeks and his eyes looked out at the world full of wonder and questions. He was dressed in an old fashioned smock and had what looked like cornflower blue velvet breaches on, his hair an auburn colour but with sun kissed streaks of gold peppered through it. ‘This is my room,’ Rolly spoke quietly as he stood by the door watching her. 

She turned to look at him then turned back to the painting, reaching up on tip toes to gently stroke the child’s mouth and cheek. ‘It’s you isn’t it?’ she asked in awe at the beauty of the portrait. He nodded. ‘I was nearly seven when Grandmother had that painted. I remember them taking a photo of me out by the pond for the artist to use and the trouble we had getting Emery to sit still, he was a little bugger but I loved him to pieces. He was my Grandmother’s dog really but she shared him with me. When the painting was done I remember how excited I was, I couldn’t wait to see it. I had always loved history and been fascinated with this house and the tails of the Tudor times and all the wonderful artwork hanging around the place of guys in britches and women in corsets and all that. Then when it arrived, I remember my Grans tying a scarf around my eyes and bringing me up to the room so that I wouldn’t look at it until she could watch my reaction. I think that I just about squealed the house down in delight. I sat here for hours just looking at it and imagining all kinds of adventures, picturing me at the court of Henry as a trusted advisor,’ he laughed.

‘And now here I am having all kinds of adventures of a different kind with you,’ he tenderly told her as they dissolved into each other’s arms, ‘and they are just as wonderful as I always hoped they would be and so much more exciting.’


	41. Chapter 41

Skye woke to find the bed next to her empty and for a moment she panicked. Getting out of bed she pulled on her thick jumper over her bare skin and went to search of Roland. When she reached the doorway of the family room she stopped, mesmerised by the sight of his silhouette standing looking out the huge window, the dawn behind him lighting his lean body as he stood there in his nakedness like some enchanted marble statue come to life. He was perfect. His body was perfect. Every curve, each muscle proportioned perfectly. He was standing with his back to her, his legs a little apart just staring at the peach and apricot lines of dawn eating away at the purple and inky remnants of the night sky. A tremor ran through her body as her eyes flicked over his delicate shoulders, the rippling of his taut frame, and then down wallowing in the curves of his buttocks and the glimpse of his well-endowed manhood peeping from between his parted legs. Her breath stopped for a fraction of a moment as she gazed at the sight of him and she was flooded with a sense of perfection and ultimate beauty of the scene in front of her. 

Moving quietly, she padded over to him and gently ran her hand up his arm. He stood perfectly still, gazing out at the coming of the newly made day before slowly, almost defiantly turning to her. His face was bathed in the dawn light, along with dusk it was the most flattering of all times of the day, softening and illuminating his skin, washing it with pastel hues like a Monet painting, bathing the gently falling tears that were coursing down his face. 

‘I think I am falling in love with you,’ he whispered to her, scared but unrepentant.

The purple velvet of the dawning light gave way to glorious rose coloured hues, bathing her face in the blush of his words … his ardent admission of love for her washing over her. Small crystal droplets of tears sparkled in her eyes as the enormity of his speech engulfed her, tearing at her heart and breaking it with happiness. ‘I want to do everything, give everything, be everything to you,’ she whispered, ‘I love you. Love me and make love to me Rolly.’ He pulled her into him and leant his forehead against hers in a flood of relief, holding onto her as his body was wracked with sobs that tore through her to her soul. ‘I love you, I love you,’ he said over and over, searching for her mouth. ‘I have never loved anyone but you,’ she said into his mouth, curling her hands through his hair and kissing him back with all her heart. 

His hands slid down her body and up under her thick jumper, feeling for her breasts as his hardness pressed into her belly. She raised her arms and he lifted the woollen jersey over her and dropped it on the floor at his feet then he ran his hands up her arms and clasped her hands. ‘Make love to me Rolly, I want to give you all my love.’ Holding both her hands in one of his, he felt for himself and guided his manhood into her. She gasped at the feeling of fullness as he reached out his hand again and they clasped onto each other, totally relying on the movement of their bodies for gratification. It was erotic and sensual as they stood there connected in such a basic way. 

She made small whimpering sounds with every thrust of his hips and she felt the rumble of pleasure deep in his chest as she laid her head against him. It was slow, agonisingly, teasingly slow and suggestive, like a provocative dance that went on and on until finally, just when they thought that they could not hold themselves in check any longer, Skye’s muscles caved in to the rapture of the moment pulling Rolly down into a spiralling pit of shuddering orgasm again and again before sliding down onto the floor together. 

‘I love you, have I told you today that I love you,’ he whispered to her, still drawing deep breaths into his lungs. ‘Have I told you today that you are everything to me?’ she asked, reaching over and stroking his ear then running her fingers down his jaw and lovingly across his chin until she reached his mouth and delicately traced the line of his lips. He reached up and took her hand and kissed it. ‘I want to show you everything, share everything with you but …,’ he frowned a little. ‘What, what’s the matter?’ she asked looking at his frowning face. ‘Well… don’t you think that we had better get dressed first?’ She laughed. ‘I have a better idea.’ ‘Oh yes and what’s that?’ She smiled. ‘How about a shower first then I will make us some breakfast. Perhaps we could eat outside if there is somewhere that you fancy?’ ‘I like that idea, I like that a lot.’

They managed to contain themselves while in the shower with an effort on both their parts and then Skye, with Rolly’s help, cooked up a full English breakfast of bacon, eggs, beans, toast and sausages while Rolly squeezed some oranges and laid a setting out on the wrought iron table that adorned the adjoining terrace. As she made her way out laden with a tray of the food, she suddenly stopped and gazed in stunned silence at the view. It was spectacular. ‘Oh my god,’ she said in awe as she stood there taking in the hills to her right, sloping down to the most beautiful lake she had ever seen. It seemed to go on and on, slope after slope of thickly treed glens then on up to the purple heather covered mountains in the distance. 

At the sound of her voice he came hurrying over to take the heavy tray from her. ‘Do you like it?’ he asked her with twinkling eyes. ‘Like it… that would be an understatement.’ He laughed. ‘It does that to you doesn’t it? I timed it pretty well last night getting here in the dark. I wanted you to see it in the morning light, the way the sun hits the hills over there then as the day goes on it changes. I never get sick of looking at it.’ She shook her head. ‘I don’t wonder. Rolly it is magnificent.’

As they sat eating breakfast he told her about his childhood memories there. How as a ten year old he had gone off exploring and climbed the highest peak on his own and got the worst thrashing in his life for being gone all day without anyone being able to find him. ‘But it was worth it,’ he told her, his face suddenly pale, bathed with a mask of childhood memory. ‘I felt that if I could only climb it then I would never have anything to hold me back ever. If I could just do this one thing, all on my own, and I did. It changed my life really,’ his eyes gazed off into the distance to that defining moment before coming back to look at her as he picked her hand up and kissed it, ‘just like you have changed it.’ She blushed and he groaned. ‘I love it when you do that.’ ‘Do what?’ she asked. ‘When you blush, you look so dam edible.’ At his words she went a deeper shade of pink at the thought of being edible. 

‘Very clever, I know what you are trying to do to me,’ she laughed. ‘Oh yes, and what’s that then?’ he asked innocently. ‘You are trying to seduce me aren’t you so you can have your wicked way with me.’ He laughed, ‘I thought that I already had … constantly.’ She trembled at the husky tone in his voice. ‘Did you tell me that you had stables here, the kind with a hay loft and straw and all that?’ He looked at her bemused. ‘Yes… why?’ She smiled at him. ‘Oh nothing, perhaps a bit later you can show me around after all, you are the master of the manor and I am just an innocent serving girl,’ she responded playfully. 

His eyes lit up as he looked at her and he smirked a little. ‘Well that sounds like a good idea, now how about we get to washing all those dishes and then I will give you a guided tour, after I have given you a hand. I am a hands on kind of master of the manor,’ he laughed suggestively and slapped her bottom lightly as she got up to start tidying up. ‘Oh kind sir, you are a saucy one aren’t you? Whatever does the young master have in mind then?’ she giggled, ‘you know I do rather feel like I am in a Carry On movie and you are about to have your way with me.’ ‘Now whatever gave you that idea,’ he said leering at her as he playfully slapped her behind again. They were still laughing as they carried everything back into the house and got stuck into the washing up. 

‘You know we make a great team,’ he pulled her into her and kissed her nose. ‘Now how about that guided tour?’ he smiled at her as he hung up the tea towel and she finished wiping down the sink. ‘Can you just give me a minute, I umm… need to powder my nose.’ He nodded and went over the to the living area picking up the cushions and putting them back on the couches and then cleaned out the ashes of the fireplace and reset it ready for whoever used it next, making sure that all the embers were completely cold. Hearing footsteps as he was brushing the dead coals into a bucket kept to the side of the fireplace, without looking up he commented that she had been very quick. 

‘Honestly Roland darling, have you taken to talking to yourself now?’ Turning quickly he looked up at the well-dressed woman that was standing next to him. 

‘Mother, what the hell are you doing here?’


	42. Chapter 42

‘Really Roland, there is no need to speak to me that way. Now come, give your Mother a hug.’ She threw her arms around him and drew him to her. ‘I am sorry, it’s just that you startled me. I had no idea you would be coming up this weekend.’ ‘Darling boy, I had no intentions of driving all this way up here but Cheryl called with a progress report and mentioned that you had contacted her and asked her to leave you some supplies so I thought that I would come and see what you are up to coming up here and not bothering to come and visit us at home. Really Roland, is it too much to expect that we will see you occasionally?’ she upbraided him then seeing the look on his face she relented. ‘Come, let me look at you. It has been so long and I have missed you.’ 

He cursed to himself for not warning Cheryl Lucas to say nothing to anyone. Dam it to hell. ‘You look different, what is it about you, there is something different?’ Her eyes ran over him and she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. She had never seen him looking quite like this. ‘You’ve lost weight and you look fit,’ she finally pronounced, ‘you look very good, it really suits you and your hair, it’s a bit longer than you used to have it. But,’ she continued studying him, ‘it is something more than just the way you look, there is something really different about you.’ ‘Mother you haven’t seen me for a while, of course I am going to look different. I have aged.’ ‘Oh Roland, don’t be ridiculous, no there is something…’ She shook her head as she studied him for a moment longer trying to work out what it was but soon gave up. 

In the meantime, Skye had gone upstairs on the pretext of using the loo however her real reason, she giggled to herself, was quite different. She wanted to surprise him. When he had mentioned the stables and they had been flirting over the master of the house insinuations, she had suddenly thought of the bustier she had bought on Friday and packed away with her other sexy lingerie that she had bought with her. Not that she had time to wear any of it she laughed to herself, she had spent half the weekend more undressed than dressed. She had made her excuse to give her time to slip into the bustier and matching little lacy panties. She was going to give him the treatment because secretly, it had been a fantasy of hers for years since reading a romantic gothic novel where the young master of the house falls in love and lust with the poor orphan girl down on her luck, taken in out of kindness, and ending with a typical rags to riches happy ending for the heroine. All very school girl pulp fiction novelette but she had loved it at the time and couldn’t help wanting to see if he would be a willing participant. She somehow got the impression that he wouldn’t mind a bit. 

Quietly coming downstairs in the hope of surprising him, after looking at her reflection in the baroque mirror and liking the way that her breasts seemed to be fuller and have more cleavage as a result of the corset under her shirt, she got to near the doorway and stopped at the sound of voices. At first she thought that he must have the radio on but then she heard his voice as clear as day along with a woman’s voice. He sounded unlike his usual self and she was puzzled. He sounded more posh as she put it, and rather strained, not like his usual self at all she thought, somewhat surprised. She couldn’t help herself as she stopped to listen to the conversation.

‘You know that your Father is really proud of what you have done with the business. He was more than pleased with the last report from Nigel. He wants to see you Roland. Why don’t you come back with me today, you can stay in your old room and go back up to town tomorrow.’ ‘No Mother, I have other plans today.’ She protested. ‘Oh Roland you always have other plans. You can’t go on avoiding your Father like this. You haven’t seen him in how long now? What it must be nearly two years. And now that you are home, back here in England, well you don’t really have any excuses. We all know what a shock that you have had. When Ros called and told us that…’ 

At that particular moment Skye’s mobile rang and she jumped. She had forgotten she had stuffed it into her pocket and put it on vibrate. She yanked it out of her pocket fumbling a little in her hurry and saw that she had a message from Pat that read:

Where the hell are you? I called to see if you wanted to catch a movie and your Mum said you had gone away to the country for the weekend. WTF? This better be good. Talk to me!

Oh dam it she thought and hurriedly stuffed the phone back in her pocket, Pat could wait. She needed to find out what it was that was upsetting Rolly. She knew that it was something from the way he sounded, not like himself one bit and she meant to find out what was going on. Focussing again on the conversation she heard his raised voice. ‘I don’t want to discuss it,’ he was replying heatedly but she had missed what they had been saying before that. ‘But Roland, it isn’t your fault she …’ ‘I don’t want to discuss it now or ever. Is that understood?’ 

Enough was enough as far as Skye was concerned. No one, not even his mother, was going to make him that upset so she boldly strode into the room and over to him, holding her hand out for him to take. His face softened at the sight or her and relief flooded through him and it showed. He took her hand and kissed it then threw his arm around her waist, looking at his mother somewhat defiantly. ‘I am sorry. I didn’t know you weren’t alone,’ she said as she looked over Skye from head to foot. Not to be out done, Skye gave as good as she got and gave her a scrutinising look back. ‘Skye babes, this is Barbara, Mother this is my girlfriend Skye,’ he said, carefully studying his Mother’s face for a reaction that he felt bound to get. 

Skye felt a little like a specimen being examined under Barbara’s scrutiny. One look at her clothes and she knew that the simple but elegant outfit of beige pants and matching jacket would have cost more than Skye’s previous clothing budget for the whole year. Why just the plain thick gold chain that she wore would pay for her yearly bus ticket not to mention how much she must spend on manicures and at the hairdresser to be so well turned out. Normally she would have felt drab and dowdy and intimidated by the older woman but with Rolly at her side she didn’t care. And as if he could read her thoughts he whispered into her ear, ‘You look edible,’ and grinned, his eyes skimming down to where she had strategically left a few buttons discreetly undone so that it gave a hint of her cleavage. 

Barbara was taken aback but it wasn’t for the reasons that others would think. No, it suddenly dawned on her what it was that was so different about Roland. She realised she had not seen him looking this relaxed and happy since his beloved Grandmother had passed away and that more than likely it explained his annoyance at her appearance. Her face softened as she looked at him. She loved him and always had but being caught in between her more than unreasonable husband and her handsome but headstrong son had made her harder than she wanted to be, only because it fell upon her to try to keep the peace between them. And that was something that wasn’t easy.

Her face and whole demeanour changed, she looked softer and had a misty look in her eyes. ‘Skye,’ she said and went over to her and embraced her much to her surprise. ‘It is lovely to meet you. Come, you must tell me about yourself. How long have you known Roland? Where did the two of you meet?’ Skye looked at Rolly and saw the tension in him disappear. ‘Mother I was just about to show Skye around the house, how about you come with us before your leave and you can help fill in the missing pieces of history.’ Barbara took the hint, he didn’t mind her being there but didn’t want her to stay. ‘That would be lovely but are you sure you don’t mind me tagging along? And really Roland, I can’t stay too long as I have a long journey home.’ ‘We don’t mind a bit do we babes?’ he said encouragingly to Skye. ‘It would be nice if you could join us,’ she smiled at his Mother relieved to see that his darker mood had now evaporated. 

They spent the next half an hour showing Skye around the house, pointing out various little quirks, explaining what needed to be restored and how it was going to be done. She was enthralled and just as excited as they both were, their enthusiasm catching. ‘I can really feel the history of this place washing over me. Thank you Barbara for sharing it with me,’ she held out her hand to her when she was saying goodbye and whispered into her ear, ‘and thank you for sharing him with me. He is precious to me.’ ‘You are more than welcome Skye and that goes for me too, and I can see that you are precious to him. It’s been a long time since I have seen him really happy and I think that it is thanks to you that he is now.’ Barbara smiled and winked.

‘What was that all about?’ he asked her as they stood waving his mother farewell when she drove off down the drive way. ‘Oh nothing,’ she smiled. ‘You know you made a fan there don’t you? It isn’t like her to take to strangers, she is a bit old fashioned and likes to be introduced and get to know someone before she lets her guard down but I can tell, she really does like you.’ He was smiling and looked pleased and relieved to some extent. ‘Oh and Skye, thanks for rescuing me.’ 

She opened her mouth to say something then changed her mind, hesitating before she went on. ‘Did you need rescuing badly Rolly?’ He nodded. She desperately wanted to know what it was that he needed to be rescued from but if he didn’t want to tell her then she didn’t want to ask. She hoped that with time he would confide in her but for the moment she was content to let it rest. She gave a shiver as she thought about it. ‘It’s getting cold,’ she said looking up at the sky where the sun had temporarily disappeared behind a bank of fluffy white clouds. ‘That reminds me… come with me,’ and he led her back into the house and over to where he had bought down their bags ready for when they left later. He fished around until he bought out the beautifully wrapped little box she had seen him with yesterday and he handed it to her. He had intended to give it to her when they were picnicking the day before but had been carried away with the moment so the right time had passed. 

‘For me?’ she asked turning the box over and over in her hands, admiring the luxurious paper and delicate cascade of ribbons tied around it. ‘It’s beautiful.’ He laughed. ‘Babes you are such a treasure. You haven’t even opened it yet. Here…’ he took it from her and pulled on the bow tied around it but carefully so that if she wanted to, she could keep the trimmings intact. He handed it back and she undid the paper and took the lid off the box inside. ‘It’s stunning,’ she said as she drew out the finest silk scarf that she had ever seen. It was azure and muted pale lilacs with just a hint of lemon colouring splashed through it. He took it from her hands and deftly wrapped it around her neck. ‘I had to get it for you. The azure matches the colour of your eyes and the other colours reminded me of you, you are like a rainbow and bright and shimmering with light and happiness. God I sound so cheesy,’ he laughed. She held her breath at his words and looked up at him with tears in her eyes. ‘That is the most beautiful thing anyone has ever said to me and this is the most beautiful present I have ever been given.’

‘I love you babes.’ ‘I love you too Rolly.’


	43. Chapter 43

‘How about that tour of the garden, I want to show you everything.’ Taking her hand in his, he nearly skipped out to the patio and down a path that led off to the right where, going through an archway, they came into a walled garden. He stopped and smiled at the sight on her face. ‘This is amazing,’ she was looking around and taking everything in. ‘It’s nowhere near finished, a parterre type of garden takes a long time to establish, depending on what plants you use for the hedging but the layout of the gravel paths are all sorted and are based on love knots. And look, see here,’ he pointed, ‘those are pear and apple trees espaliered against the brick wall. They will flourish there over time; the heat of the wall will do wonders for them. Over there in that bed not yet planted out, that is going to have lavender and that part down there will be standard roses,’ he went on enthusiastically. His voice was brimming with pride as he showed her around and explained what it would all look like once fully formed. 

They sat for a while on a small stone bench placed strategically in a sunny spot while he went through all the plants and vegetables that would be planted for spring. It had started out warmer than they had expected when they first went out with the sun streaming through the patchy sky but after being lost in each other as they sat and talked, the sky clouded over and the wind turned cold. They didn’t even notice that the hills over to the right were now covered in cloud and the view miles down the valley was obscured by a misty rain that had begun. The first spots of rain were a shock to them as they got up to make a run for it but instead of heading back to the house, he led her across the patio to a large stone building over to the left. By the time that they had sprinted over it was raining heavily, one of those down pours that are like a tap being turned on at full pelt, so heavy that by the time he flung open the doors and their eyes accustomed themselves to the darkened interior, claps of thunder began rumbling overhead. 

They were out of breath and panting from their mad dash and they stood there trying to get their breath back as they looked out the doors at flashes of lightening streaking the darkened sky. He turned to look at her and her eyes were sparkling in her flushed face. Her shirt was soaked through and the satin bustier she was wearing was now clearly visible through the wet fabric. His eyes ran over her and she recognised the look of lust in them, suddenly becoming shy. For some reason she couldn’t meet his eyes, the look on his face was so ardent, so very eager that her heartbeat was skipping and jumping around in her chest. ‘Babes,’ he gently placed his thumb under her chin and raised her face up to look at him. She smiled timidly at him feeling nervous just to be so close to him even after their previous intimacy. He looked so irresistible. She knew there was nothing that she could refuse him, who could? Whatever he wanted, whatever would please him she wanted to do, she wanted to give him everything. She shivered a little at the thought and the depth of her emotions for this beautiful man.

He took her hand and led her over to where a pile of new hay was lying ready to be added to the stalls when the Lucas’s returned with the horses. He grabbed a rug hanging over one of the stall doors and laid it out on the hay and then pulled her down onto it so that she lay there next to him. He began to stroke her hair and face, running his fingertips lightly over her cheeks, across her lips and chin then down her throat to the button of her shirt. Slowly, one by one, he undid them and eased her shirt off. ‘Hmmm,’ he murmured as his hot lips traced the trail his fingers had taken, ‘what do we have here?’ His fingers traced the pattern of the lacings on the front of her bustier as they crisscrossed down to where it sat just above the waistband of her jeans. His deft nimble fingers making short work of the button and zip of her jeans. She lifted her hips as he slowly peeled them of her shapely legs. 

He gazed at her, taking in the way her breasts almost peeped over the top of the satin, the way the curves of her hips were perfectly proportioned, and how the small fantasy of lace barely covered the V shaped essence of her sensuality. His hand slipped down her body, caressing her smooth skin as he skimmed down, ever downwards before cupping her, feeling her wetness through the flimsy fabric. He sucked his breath in. She was ready for him, she was always ready for him and it did unspeakable things to his body. ‘Do you trust me?’ he rasped. ‘Always,’ her voice responded in a whisper of faith. 

Pulling the scarf from around her throat he wrapped it around her eyes until he was sure that she couldn’t see then, as he gently kissed her, he moved his hands down her again and slid his finger under the lace of her panties. With the lightest of possible touches he stroked her before searching and finding the warm silken place within her as she arched up to meet his long sensual fingers. She began to moan with pleasure. Achingly slowly he moved his fingers to a rhythm, teasing her, tempting her with the eroticism of the moment. She was lost in a world of total sensuality. She was blind to her surroundings but not to her senses and nothing that she had ever experienced had ever matched what he was doing to her right now. 

The rain beat down on the roof of their nest, the thunder and lightning an accompaniment of musical drama to their passion. Still he went on; his slow movements a torture to her flesh until, unable to stand it any longer, she begged him to take her. He was emboldened by her admission of love and trust, he wanted to give her every pleasure there was to experience. With nimble fingers he undid the lacing of the bustier, freeing her from confinement then quickly stripping off himself, he straddled her, his legs around her waist as he cupped her breasts around his erection. She was mewing now, small soft sounds escaping her wonderful lips. Her lips, he couldn’t take his eyes from her parted wet lips. He moved forward a little until he found her lips and she responded greedily, taking him in and doing things with her tongue that he could only dream of. 

Her senses were reeling at the feel of his touch, the taste of him, the exquisite abandonment she felt relying on senses other than her eyes. She moved her hands to his buttocks, kneading his taught muscles and pulling him closer to her, motioning him to move his hips. Her touch set a fire through him, his body pulsing with an urgency that he fought to keep under control. He broke away from her, he had to. He had to have her. He quickly moved his body down her, hurriedly parting her legs and positioning himself. He was barely in control of his excitement now, as desperate to have her as she was to have him, but determined to prolong the ecstatic need for each other as long as he could. When he finally slipped into her, the sensory overload for them both was almost too much to bear. He wanted to take it slowly, to tease her and take her up then bring her back down again, over and over. He wanted this to be memorable and an earth shattering experience but when she wrapped her legs around his hips, slightly altering their position, and he felt himself plunging deeper into her, he doubted that he could hold back for much longer. 

With each thrust of his hips taking them deeper and deeper into a place of torment and anticipation, it took all of his control to keep himself in check but when he felt that delicious moment of her muscles beginning to cave around him, it was too much for even him and they burst into a world of shattering orgasm that seemed to last for an eternity, coursing through their bodies over and over again until they were spent. 

She rapidly blinked her glazed eyes as he pulled the scarf away from them, seeing nothing, still lost to the visions in her mind that he had evocated. Her face was flushed, wearing the mask that he had so long dreamt of seeing. He drank in her afterglow like a thirsty man would who had been lost in a desert for days, taking in draught after draught of thirst quenching cool water. She lay on her back staring up at the old oak beams of the roof, her heart beat and breathing gradually slowing as he lay on his side, waves of emotions going through him. 

‘I never thought that anything could feel so … erotic. I never dreamt of anything being so breath taking.’ She turned and looked into his eyes. ‘Is it always like this?’ she quietly asked. ‘I … I don’t know. I have never done this with anyone else. I,’ he hesitated, ‘I don’t have all that much experience to be honest.’ He was embarrassed by his admission but that was nothing to her reaction. ‘I don’t understand. You are so gorgeous; you could get anyone you wanted, I don’t even know why you would want to be with me, I’m not terribly experienced either but you,’ she thought for a moment searching for the right words before whispering, ‘you are so incredible.’ 

He blushed, a deep red spreading from his neck up his face and he looked totally embarrassed now but at the same time he was thrilled. He ran his fingers down her cheek and across her lips, something that he loved doing and she loved him doing it to her. ‘If I am it is only because of you. You are the one that is incredible Skye. You are the love of my life.’ She drew her breath in and her heart melted. She wanted to pump the air with her fist and squeal like a fan girl she was so elated. 

‘I love you Roland Barker.’


	44. Chapter 44

It rained nearly all the way back to London but neither one of them cared. They were cocooned in their own little world. As long as they were together they were happy. It was only when they reached the outskirts of the city that they both felt a dread descending on them. It was inevitable, sooner or later they would have to part and Skye would have to go home. They were putting off even talking about it. 

‘True Blood,’ she said out of the blue. ‘Sorry?’ taking his eyes off the road for a moment, Rolly looked at her bewildered. She giggled. ‘Do you know the TV show True Blood?’ she asked. ‘Oh, do you all have any of that synthetic blood,’ he drawled in a very good imitation of a Southern gentleman vampire. Her eyes lit up with astonishment. ‘Well what about it… I watch it every week. You already know that I have a penchant for Tuvian throat singing, but what about the show?’ he asked her more than curious to know what she was talking about. 

‘Well, I was watching it with Mum and she’s become addicted to it,’ she started to explain. ‘Please don’t say anything because Dad doesn’t know but she is so besotted with it now that she has even joined up online fan sites for Bill. Oh and before I go on I have to know, are you are Bill Tragic or an EL?’ ’I can kind of figure out what a Bill Tragic is but what the fuck is an EL?’ Skye was laughing at the look on his face. ‘Well you either love Bill and want Bill and Sookie to end up together or if not, you at least want a happy ending for him after all he has been through, or you are an Eric Lover, an EL,’ she was explaining patiently. ‘Oh,’ he replied rather startled, ‘well would it make any difference to you whatever I was?’

Skye tried hard not to let him see that, as silly as it might sound, it really would make a difference. She was holding her breath waiting for him to say something, looking straight ahead of her so that her face wouldn’t give anything away. ‘I think that Bill is one of the noblest characters on TV and if you ask me it should be called True Bill, not True Blood, but what the hell has that got to do with anything?’ She sighed with relief. Thank god she thought to herself. 

‘You are right, he is the most compassionate character on the show and his character arc throughout the seasons has been amazing. But the reason I mentioned it is… well I guess I will be cooking dinner for you after all so I kind of owe you an explanation. You see Mum had been talking about how hard it was to keep track of all the news that comes out about Bill and umm… his alter ego,’ she was blushing as she told him this as it was not just her Mum that was more than a little interested in Bill and his alter ego if she was being honest, ‘so it got me thinking, and not just about Bill and TB but about all the TV shows that have huge fan bases. So that is how I came up with the new app.’

‘Well I guess we will have to make sure that one Mr William Thomas Compton gets a royalty cheque because I just know that it is going to be a success. I am sure it is going to work out in a big way,’ he assured her, ‘as for cooking dinner, how about tonight? I really don’t want you to go home. I just want to be with you Skye.’ He reached out with one hand as he drove through the maze of northern city streets and brushed her fingers with his lips. ‘I don’t want to go home either; I don’t want to leave you.’ 

He smiled. ‘Ring your Mum and tell her that you will be getting back late so you are going to stay over with your friend. I can rummage through Sarah’s wardrobe for something for you to wear to work tomorrow, she is bound to have a dress that wouldn’t look too bad, and she has very good taste in designer clothes. Stay with me Skye, please stay the night.’ She nodded. ‘Ok, Rolly I want to stay with you too. I was dreading going home and leaving you.’ ‘Good, that’s settled then. Now, what are you going to cook me for dinner? I knew that one way or another I would get it out of you, you know,’ he smiled smugly. 

She gave him a mock punch on the arm. ‘Oh ok Mr Smartie Pants, you were pretty sure of yourself weren’t you? Just for that I am not going to tell you what is for dinner but I hope that you have a can opener and that you like baked beans.’ He laughed. ‘I wouldn’t care what you made, you are enough for me. I just want to eat you.’ She sucked in her breath at his words. ‘Rolly you have to stop saying things like that; you know what you do to me.’ 

Taking her hand and moving it onto his crutch he rasped, ‘And you know what you do to me. I am almost permanently in this state with you around. Just the thought that you will be staying the night has me like this. In fact, let’s pick up some take away, cooking will take too long and I want to eat soon then we can have an early night.’ He smirked as he said this and it sent a shiver down her. ‘Yes, let’s do that,’ she huskily replied, ‘I am hungry for you too.’ ‘God you are going to be the death of me, you know that don’t you?’ ‘I told you, death by sex, what a way to go.’ 

They picked up a pizza on the way home and grabbing a bottle of wine, they sat on the floor eating straight out of the box. ‘No dishes to wash,’ he explained. She smiled, ‘I like your way of thinking, very practical and time saving,’ she laughed. When they had finished she got up and put the empty box in the recycle bin and suggested coffee. ‘How about you make the coffee while I rummage through Sarah’s wardrobe for something for you to wear in the morning and you can call your Mum too.’ She nodded her thanks, she really hadn’t been too thrilled with the idea of going through Sarah’s things even though he had said that Sarah had bought that many clothes with her that she wouldn’t even notice, half of them she had never even worn. 

She put the coffee on and was still on the phone to her Mum when he came down stairs again. She mouthed ‘Sorry, won’t be long,’ and rolled her eyes to him whilst adding the appropriate ‘yes Mum’ and ‘no Mum’ dialogue. Once she got going Joan seemed to have an exhaustible list of things to catch up on even though it had only been two days since she had seen Skye. 

To Skye’s relief she hadn’t made any reference to her somewhat garbled conversation of two nights ago, her Mum putting it down to Skye’s not being able to handle more than a drink or two and just relieved that she was safe and staying with a friend. She was happy that she had been able to have a relaxing weekend in the country by all accounts as she had been worried that Skye had been working so much lately and even though she knew that she loved the new position, she was concerned that she was working way too hard. 

When Skye finally managed to hang up Rolly was nowhere to be seen but she could hear music coming from somewhere towards the front of the house. He had promised to give her a guided tour but somehow they had gotten side-tracked so she hadn’t seen the other rooms. Following the music, she walked down the hallway to where a light was shining through a partially opened door. She stopped and listened to the dulcet tones of a piano playing and much to her surprise, a beautiful tenor voice singing softly to the music. 

She stood in the doorway enraptured, totally mesmerized by the song. She must have heard the same song on the radio thousands of times, it was a perennial favourite and had been around forever, but hearing it sung with emotion of this kind was new, something that she had never experienced. Something…..that was it, that was the name of the song. She had never appreciated the beauty of the words before but now as she crept into the room and stood transfixed while she watched Rolly singing and playing, her heart skipped a beat. 

When he had finished he sat perfectly still looking down at the keys of the small baby grand piano. ‘That was beautiful,’ she whispered still standing in the doorway, ‘you have such a talent. You made that song come alive. I have never heard it sung so beautifully. You could have been a singer you sing so beautifully.’ 

He looked up sharply, embarrassed to have been caught out but there was some other emotion on his face too that she didn’t quite understand. She thought that he looked sad. ‘What is it?’ she asked as she walked over to him and draped her arms around his shoulders, kissing the back of his head before leaning in and running her cheek against his. He turned swiftly and grabbed her and swung her onto his lap in a bear hug, holding her tightly as if he needed comforting. ‘Rolly, what is it?’ she asked again sensing his mood and wanting to understand it. ‘It’s nothing, really it’s nothing. Just be here, stay with me now and hold me.’ ‘I’m here, I’m not going anywhere.’ 

She sat in his arms, running her hand gently through his hair, stroking him tenderly until he seemed soothed and the mood passed. ‘That song could have been written about the way I feel for you. You have something in you Skye, something so wonderful that it makes me want to burst. You can’t understand what a difference you have made to my life, what hell I ….’ She put her hand on his cheek. ‘Tell me, tell me what is wrong?’ He shook his head. ‘It’s nothing,’ he shrugged, ‘just me being dramatic.’ 

She sighed a little, she knew from the little she had overheard of the conversation between his Mum and himself earlier that day that he had been through something but she had no idea what and she wanted him to share it, whatever it was. She wanted to share everything in his life but if he wasn’t ready then she would just have to accept it but she hoped that one day he would be able to talk to her. She didn’t know why but she realised that there was a lot to learn about him and she had the feeling that he had been hurt deeply and that the scars were definitely not healed. 

‘How about that coffee then I will give you a guided tour of the rest of the house and then we can get to bed?’ The smile on his face masked what he was really feeling, but if he told her would she have stayed he wondered, or would it have been too much for her, would she ever be able to understand.


	45. Chapter 45

‘What the fuck Roland, have you taken up cross dressing?’ Sarah’s annoyed voice blasted through the en suite door. ‘Shite,’ Rolly exclaimed, breaking away from Skye in a panic to reach for the lock on the door just as the handle turned. ‘Just a minute,’ he called out hurriedly as he reached for a towel at the same time throwing his robe over to Skye as she turned off the shower. ‘Why have you locked the door, are you ok Roland?’ Sarah questioned alarmed now at his out of the ordinary behaviour. ‘Won’t be a moment, I was in the shower,’ he replied hastily.

It was Monday morning and after showing Skye the other rooms in the house they had gone to bed and made love again before falling asleep in each other’s arms. Skye had been taken by the formal sitting room he had shown her. It was one of the most elegant rooms she had ever seen. The walls were all painted in a shade of white and the whole room was decorated with a French Provençale feel to it, all whites and gold and Chrystal chandeliers and celebrated luxury. It put her in mind of a French salon, even down to the shutters on the windows. It was exquisite, delicate and tasteful. She had totally loved it. She had also been impressed beyond words with the formal dining room and its richly carved furniture, deep plush red carpet and elaborately carved heavy furnishings. It was the personification of refinement and so fitting for this part of the restored Georgian residence. 

The other room that he showed her was a library. Large book cases lined the walls filled with books that were of all ages and all subjects. Some she recognised as best sellers but others, judging by the age of the spines, they were older than any that she had ever seen in a private residence and she wondered if they were possibly even first editions or close to it. There were two comfortable looking leather chairs placed at angles and standing facing the huge black marble fireplace, and underneath the huge bay window with she assumed gave a view of the small side court yard at the side of the garden, heavy brocade drapes masking the view, there was a red velvet covered chaise lounge. 

In each corner were large potted palms and the whole room reminded her of something out of a gothic novel or a Sherlock Holmes story. It dripped with an atmosphere that she found appealing and she pictured sitting there on a rainy day reading and just relaxing, fire blazing away. She also pictured Rolly taking her on the chaise lounge and on the big fur rug in front of the fireplace. She smiled to herself, keeping that in mind as something that she may suggest in the future. 

They had finished their coffees and gone up to shower, then to bed. Ironically, given the amount of sex they had over the weekend, Skye felt rather nervous. Having sex with someone is one thing but really, apart from on Friday night when she had fallen asleep, she had never spent a night with someone in their own home and in their own bed. She didn’t count the previous night as that felt more like a weekend away type of scenario where as now, here she was in Rolly’s own space, where he lived, and she felt the difference to the situation. She felt that this was real and not just a dream or a passing fancy. Well she hoped it wasn’t that is. 

After showering together he had gone out to turn down the bed, leaving her to clean her teeth and brush her hair and she was glad as she needed a moment to herself. She had taken her bag into the wet room with her and pulled out the little shorty baby doll nightie that she had bought and not yet worn. Putting it on, she did a small pirouette in front of the mirror just to see the effect. She giggled nervously to herself as she watched the way it swung around her body revealing the fact that she was wearing nothing underneath. She gave herself a light misting of her favourite perfume and opened the door. She stood leaning against the door frame, posing in what she hoped was a provocative stance and gave a small cough. 

Rolly, who was sitting on the edge of the bed setting the clock radio alarm half turned to look over his shoulder in her direction. Even from where she was standing she heard the catch in his breath as he looked at her. He licked his lips before huskily murmuring, ‘God give me strength.’ He then jumped up and was over at her side in the blink of an eye, his hands gently lifting the hem of the flimsy fabric and running up the top of her thighs and across her hips to slip down behind her, finding her buttocks and cupping them. He was breathing fast as his lips searched for hers, clamping his mouth over hers eagerly and slipping his tongue into her mouth before she could even move. To say that her nerves vanished and that she was pleased with the effect that she had on him would be an understatement. 

As they lay on the bed making love she looked up and could suddenly appreciate the value of the huge mirror hanging on the wall. The angle afforded a perfect view of the two of them. Rolly looked up too and his eyes met her. The very act of the two of them watching their faces in mid act was enough to heighten their arousal even more than normal, if that was possible, and added an extra ambience of eroticism to their act. 

Each thrust he made, every movement of her hands on his buttocks as she urged him on was like watching a secret tryst between two lovers in perfect harmony. It overwhelmed their senses with the suggestive hidden delights the two lovers in the mirror were feeling. They became two voyeurs witnessing something secret and indiscreet. As they watched each other they could not help being engulfed in the moment and their emotions boiled, becoming less and less inhibited as their bodies wreathed with the needs percolating through them until finally they gazed at the image of their faces in gratification of the pleasure they had witnessed at the moment of orgasm, locking the look of ecstatic fulfilment on each other’s face in their minds to keep there forever. 

Now here they were after awakened by the alarm, lying in each other’s arms curled together, bodies entwined, getting up and taking a shower only to feel the need for each other once again pulling at their bodies until they were about to be joined together when Sarah had come disrupting their morning liaison. 

Rolly walked out with a towel wrapped around his waist, hastily closing the door behind him to find Sarah standing there waiting for him, and for an explanation. ‘What the hell Roland, have you been going through my clothes? What on earth do you think you were doing?’ She stopped embarrassed as her eyes skimmed over him and she couldn’t help but notice the tent in his towel. He was even more mortified than she was when he saw her gaze and her quickly averted eyes. He looked down at himself, hastily attempting to camouflage his erection with his hand. Before he could say anything the door behind him opened and Skye came to his rescue, walking out dressed in his robe and looking very shy but a little defiant. He could have kissed her.

A look of total astonishment swept Sarah’s face as she looked at the two of them. ‘I’m sorry, it didn’t cross my mind that you aren’t alone,’ she quickly turned and headed for the door. ‘Sarah come back I want you to meet my girlfriend Skye.’ She stopped and turned and smiled. ‘How about the two of you finish what you were doing,’ she smirked, ‘and it might be an idea if you got dressed too then we can meet properly.’ She was still laughing as they heard her going downstairs. ‘Well, that was embarrassing,’ Skye blushed at him. ‘Not as embarrassing as it would be if she came in right now,’ and with that he slipped his hands into her robe and ran them down her breasts, pressing his still very erect manhood against her. ‘Hmm, you are so right,’ she murmured into his mouth as they somehow made it over to the bed and fell into each other’s bodies. 

Roland finished dressing before Skye had so he left her to get ready and went down stairs in search of his sister. ‘Aren’t you the sly one,’ she said with a mouthful of cereal when he walked over to the kitchen bench to make coffee for both he and Skye. ‘Roland,’ she remarked raising her eyebrows, ‘you know you could have warned me. Really that was so embarrassing, not just for me but I am sure that it was for both you and Skye too.’ He rolled his eyes. ‘Sarah how the hell was I supposed to know that you would be back, you come and go as you please and we don’t live in each other’s pockets. It never really mattered before but now it is different. Everything is different now.’ 

Skye chose that particular moment to appear and heard his last remark. As she walked over to him she was glowing, basking in his words. He held out his hand to her and drew her in to him and kissed her unashamedly before turning to Sarah. ‘Proper introductions now are appropriate I think. Sarah this is Skye, Skye babes, this is Sarah my sister. You umm, have been walking around half the weekend in her clothes. And Sarah before you go off let me explain why I had to go digging in amongst your copious amounts of clothing to find something for Skye to wear.’

He then went on to tell her of the accident on Friday night and how Skye’s clothes had been ruined. He skipped vaguely over why she hadn’t gone home and gotten her own clothes, it was pretty obvious to Sarah that they had what she termed in her own mind as a naughty weekend. She shrugged it off as being par for the course except… except that her big brother didn’t have naughty weekends. She had never known him to have anything of that kind and to be honest, after getting over her surprise, she was rather glad that he had. Way to go Roland. Who knew?

‘Sarah my apologies for this, I will replace everything that I have been using. Just let me know where you got them and I will make sure that,’ Sarah interrupted Skye, ‘Don’t worry about it, really Roland is right, I have more clothes than I know what to do with and if it hadn’t been that I actually only realised that anything was missing when I went to get that bag with the jeans and jumper in, I was going to take them back, well I wouldn’t have even noticed that anything was gone. I am sure Roland will tell you that I blow up over nothing and get over things very quickly. Now, let’s be friends and no more about the clothes, they really don’t matter.’ 

Sarah walked over to her and shook her hand. ‘Right you two, sorry to break this up but,’ Rolly was looking at his watch, ‘it’s time that we got going or we will be late for work. Catch you tonight Sarah. Come on Skye, we’ll grab some breakfast from Christine at the coffee shop. See you tonight.’ He grabbed Skye’s hand and whisked her out the door, collecting her bags and they left. He breathed a sigh of relief when they got into his car and he quickly pulled her into him, planting a very hard and wet kiss on her mouth that left her rather speechless not to mention breathless.

‘Oh god Skye, how are we going to get through the day without going insane not being able to touch each other?’ ‘I don’t know,’ she sighed but we are going to have to try.’


	46. Chapter 46

They pulled into the car park and into Roland’s parking bay. As they did so, they looked around and were relieved to find that as they both always preferred to get an early start they were on their own with no one else around. Skye was in his arms the moment that she unfastened her seat belt, their passionate embrace hopefully enough to sustain them throughout the day. ‘I can’t get enough of you Skye, I will never be able to get enough of you, you know that don’t you.’ She sighed, her hot breath on his cheek sweet and yet somehow sensual and alluring. ‘Is it bad that I want you again, that I want you to turn the car around and we go back to your place and spend the rest of the day in bed?’ He laughed. ‘You are a mind reader. That was precisely what I was thinking too, but you know that we can’t.’ ‘I know, but we can dream can’t we?’

Skye left the car park first, glancing down the street to see if there was anyone on their way into the building that might spot her and wonder why she would be coming out of the car park that was normally reserved for the executives of all the surrounding buildings primarily due to the fact of the exorbitant cost of rental prices, the big wigs from the local companies were the only ones that could afford to park there because it was so expensive. A few moments later Roland followed and as agreed, they met at the coffee shop counter as though it was a coincidence. They picked up coffees and both bought small packages of yoghurt and fruit salad, healthy choices that were a breakfast special Christine put together for the more health conscious of her customers. As they stood waiting for the lift Pat arrived breathlessly cursing the hold up to her train as they stood there.

‘Hi stranger, how was your weekend? You owe me a big explanation and don’t think that you are going to get out of it either, I want to talk to you,’ she was saying, giving Skye the once over puzzled by a change in her friend’s appearance. ‘You look different, have you done something to your hair, or your makeup, you look amazing,’ she observed, ‘whatever you did on the weekend has sure done wonders for you, I have never seen you look so rested. Whatever it was I want some.’ Skye went crimson and Roland looked down at his feet to hide the smile he was trying to suppress. ‘Morning Roland how was your weekend? Hope that it was as good as the one Skye had by the looks of things.’ ‘Morning Pat, I am not sure about Skye but I had a very satisfying weekend, quite memorable in fact and I can’t wait to have another one just like it.’ ‘That sounds interesting, what did you do? Was it exciting?’ 

The lift arrived at that moment thankfully, Roland and Skye didn’t know how much longer they could keep straight faces but somehow they were managing admirably. Roland waited until they were in the lift before answering. ‘Yes, it was quite exciting really. In fact I can honestly say that it was the most exciting weekend that I have ever had in my life.’ Pat was now full of curiosity but as they had arrived on their floor she didn’t have time to ask for further information so the moment was lost and Skye and Roland were safely inside their office before further questions could be asked. 

‘You are so bad,’ Skye said once he had safely closed the door behind him, ‘I thought that I was going to choke with that crack about how exciting your weekend was,’ she whispered, fearful that even though in reality the office was pretty much sound proof, still she didn’t want to be overheard. ‘You know that Pat is going to want details about your weekend Skye, what the hell are you going to tell her?’ ‘I’ll just say that I had a bit too much to drink on Friday night, which by the way is true, and that I went to a friend’s place and was invited to stay in the country for the weekend. And that is the truth too isn’t it, a very good friend’s place.’ He nodded, ‘A close friend would you say?’ he almost whispered, careful to keep his distance as he didn’t trust himself. ‘Oh yes, definitely a close friend, in fact one that couldn’t be much closer,’ she purred and smiled.

They stood there staring at each other, feeling the attraction that they had and wondering how they were going to get through the day like this, fighting temptation but fortunately at that moment the phone rang. ‘Roland its Godfrey here,’ the voice boomed, ‘cocktails in my penthouse office tomorrow, six o’clock sharp and make sure that you bring Skye with you. I want to meet her – in person.’ He had hung up before Roland had the chance to say a word. Godfrey was that kind of person; he said what he had to and never dreamt that anyone else had anything worthy of saying. It just never occurred to him that his demands would not be met and it was a first that he had even negotiated anything other than his express wishes when he had conformed to Roland and Skye’s contractual stipulations of the previous Friday. Roland was well aware of this and it rather intrigued and excited him to think that for once in his life Godfrey didn’t get everything his own way in the business world, quite a coo really. 

The call had snapped both of them out of the daze that they were in and bought them back down to earth, well for the time being. For the rest of the day, up until when they left early to go to the police station to file their reports as promised, they focused on business and managed somehow to remain as professional as possible. Roland explained to Nigel the reasons that they both needed to finish up sooner than normal and after confirming with him the details of Godfrey’s invitation, they called it quits and left. 

‘Thank god,’ Skye let out a huge sigh of relief to finally be alone together, ‘this has been the longest day of my life. I couldn’t have born another minute without being able to touch you.’ He looked at her and nodded. ‘I know, trust me I know but just remember they probably have CCTV here in the car park, I should have thought of it this morning really. Give me a moment to get out of here, then once we get the accident reports over and done with….you my love are going to get it big time.’ She closed her eyes at his words and gave a shiver before speaking in the husky voice that she always had when she was turned on, the one that did things to him and drove him crazy, ‘Please hurry.’ ‘Don’t worry, I will.’ 

After giving their statements and learning much to their relief that Mark was doing just fine, they took off heading in the direction of Skye’s home. As much as they didn’t want to be apart they both knew that sooner or later she had to go home and so there was no more putting it off but, as he explained when he turned off the road and headed down through a shady car park that ran belonged to the local gardens near Skye’s home, it didn’t mean that they had to get her home straight away. 

By the time they had left the police station it was getting on for dark so they had the secluded parking area to themselves. He had parked behind some trees and bushes that afforded them plenty of privacy and yet gave a view of the sweeping curve of the inbound track in case of any untoward strangers approaching. They may have been in a tearing hurry but he was no fool and was not going to take any chances with their safety. Secluded spots were just the kind of areas the led to attacks on unsuspecting lovers so he was being cautious. 

‘I need you so much,’ he had murmured as he hastily undid first his seatbelt then hers, flicking her seat in to a reclining position before climbing over to her side of the car. She was in his arms, her lips crushing against his as he pulled her dress up and she reached down and undid the zip in his pants. There was no need for romantic sentiments from either of them, their needs were basic and primal. They needed each other’s bodies to connect and sate the hunger they had been feeling all day. He gave a soft groan matched by hers as he took her, their bodies shaking with excitement as they flew together in a rush of lust for each other, in such a hurry that it took their breath away. ‘I needed that,’ he gasped as he lay in her arms, chest heaving with exertion. ‘So did I but Rolly,’ she looked up at him as he looked down lovingly into her eyes, ‘I want you again.’ He closed his eyes and gave a small thrust, ‘Well my love, I think that I can oblige.’ 

They stayed there making love until they were both exhausted but satisfied then finally breaking apart they realised it was now after seven and they really couldn’t put it off any longer. Skye had to get home or her parents would be getting really worried, as ridiculous as it may sound considering her age but regardless of how old you are, they both knew that parents will always worry so reluctantly he drove to her place, parked the car and was soon standing on the door step facing the inevitable farewell. 

They were locked in such a passionate embrace that neither noticed the front door open quietly until Joan coughed discreetly and they jumped apart looking very coy. ‘Skye what a surprise,’ she commented tongue in cheek, ‘and Roland lovely to see you again. I hope that the two of you had a lovely weekend in the country and that you kept her… safe Roland.’ Joan’s eyes ran over him and she hurriedly glanced a way with a small smile on her lips when she noticed his fly was undone, much to his and Skye’s horror. ‘Just keep her protected is all that I ask.’ They were both rather speechless.

Skye went red then white at what she thought her Mum was hinting at. How she knew that it was with Roland that she had spent the weekend she could only guess but for the moment it would keep until she could talk to her in private, Mother to Daughter talk and strictly women’s business. ‘Could you excuse me for a moment?’ she hastily mumbled and rushed past Joan and up the stairs. ‘Come on in Roland, we were just about to sit down to supper, please I won’t take no for an answer, I want you to join us and I am sure that Skye would love that too. In fact, I am sure that there is nothing she would enjoy more, after all you are almost part of the family now after what you have done for her. I’ll just give you a minute to get sorted will I then come on into the kitchen; I am just about to dishup.’ Quickly turning away to see to things and adjust his fly, he turned back and flashed a dazzling smile at her.

‘Trust me Joan, the pleasure is all mine.’


	47. Chapter 47

‘Are you alright?’ Roland whispered to Skye after they had finished dinner and were sitting on the couch having a coffee, Joan in one chair and Jon in the other with Paul and Jen sprawled out in bean bags on the floor glued to the latest episode of Dracula. All through dinner she had been a little quiet and withdrawn, picking at her food and not saying much at all while he had been the very centre of conversation. ‘I’m fine,’ she said looking at him but she dropped her eyes as tears sprang into them. He frowned. ‘What is it?’ he whispered into her ear. She shook her head and mouthed “later”. He reached his arm around her shoulder and pulled her into him, uncaring that they were in company. It was obvious from Joan’s remarks that while they might be getting away with keeping their feelings a close secret at work, here in the bosom of her family there was no such hope so what the hell, he thought to himself, go for it. 

Even though Joan hadn’t moved a muscle, as small smile spread across her face as she saw him out the corner of her eye, her antennae on the alert for anything that remotely resembled a display of their feelings for each other. ‘That was awesome,’ Jen commented to the room in general when the episode credits were rolling. ‘Hah, it was not a patch on True Blood, heh Skye?’ Paul asked. ‘His fangs are too small and he is bound to get caught out in the sun sooner or later.’ ‘They are not,’ Jen said defensively, ‘and he won’t, he’s too smart for that. You are only saying that because you are jealous of Jonathon. He is such a doll,’ she sighed. They sat arguing the merits of vampires and fangs for a while with Roland sitting there enjoying the normality of the close family banter until Skye began yawning. ‘You’re tired and I should be going. We’ll have a long day tomorrow and it might be a late night, I am sure that Godfrey, once he gets going, will prattle on as he does enjoy hearing himself talk.’ 

‘Oh lord, you just reminded me, what the hell am I going to wear?’ Skye exclaimed with panic in her voice. ‘You would look good in anything,’ he whispered in her ear, ‘but you know what I prefer you in don’t you?’ he smirked. She nudged him with her elbow, ‘Knock it off, you are so bad,’ she whispered back, ‘I know exactly what you prefer but that is so not going to happen,’ she giggled. ‘You are such a spoil sport,’ he laughed. ‘Ok you two love birds, isn’t it about time that you let Skye get to bed, you both have work in the morning don’t you?’ Jon reminded them. Skye was mortified to think that her Dad was talking to Rolly like that. After all, he was her boss and the CEO of the company she worked for but still, she was yawning again and she was really tired. ‘I’ll just walk Rolly out then I will be right up.’ ‘Well don’t take all night about it then girl,’ he Father warned. 

After thanking her parents for their hospitality and wishing them a good night, Roland got up with Skye and was making his way to the door when Joan called out after them. ‘You will be here for Christmas won’t you, it’s just that I am getting all my ordering done soon as it is only just over three and a half weeks away and I want to be organised early this year.’ Skye and Roland looked at each other in surprise. ‘God is it that close, I haven’t done any shopping yet,’ she lamented, ‘where the hell did the last five months go?’ ‘How about we do some shopping this weekend or even one night after work? We could go together if you like,’ he eagerly suggested. She agreed but then she would agree to anything if it meant that she would spend more time with him. Turning to Joan he thanked her for her kind offer. ‘I would love to spend Christmas with you if it isn’t an imposition.’ ‘Good it’s all settled. Skye can give you the details. Good night then Rolly, drive carefully.’ She was smiling as she went up to bed. 

‘You have a wonderful family Skye,’ he was telling her once they were outside and leaning on his car. They are so kind to me, you are really lucky to have such caring parents.’ ‘I know, they drive me nuts at times but I am really blessed.’ ‘It’s me that is blessed. I am so lucky to have found you and to have been accepted into your family, they have really made me feel part of it already and yet they hardly know me.’ He was shaking his head in disbelief. ‘They don’t need to know you to love you Rolly, you are so giving that it is hard not to love you. I do.’ She leant up to him and kissed his cheek. ‘I love you too Skye.’ His lips met hers and they stood holding each other in an embrace, clinging on to the moment. 

‘I have to go and you need to get some sleep. I am sure that you must be as knackered as I am.’ She nodded. ‘I am, I am so tired,’ she yawned again. ‘Ring me when you get in or I will worry. I don’t want you to go, I want you to stay with me,’ she sighed. ‘I know, I don’t want to go either. I want to wake up with you next to me,’ he sighed. ‘Oh Rolly,’ she held onto him tightly. ‘Oh Skye,’ he clung on to her too until finally he let her go. ‘You have to get some sleep. I promise that I will ring you when I get in and I will see you tomorrow at work. And don’t forget,’ he said as he got into his car, ‘we have drinks with Godfrey.’ True to his word he called her when he got in and so tired were they both that they fell asleep talking to each other, the last thing that either of them remembered the next day was telling each other how much they were in love. 

‘I’ll pick you up in twenty minutes,’ his voice was silky soft when he rang her the next morning, ‘hope you slept well, I slept like a log. See you soon babes.’ He had hung up before she could even protest that it was out of his way to come and get her. It was just as well that she was up and dressed and about ready to leave, she had thought smiling and hugging herself at the thought of only twenty more minutes and they would be together. 

She had fallen into bed exhausted the night before, wondering how she was going to stay awake long enough to take his call once he got home when a soft tapping at her door had interrupted her thoughts and Joan had come in quietly, sitting down on the edge of the bed and taking her hand. ‘He is madly in love with you, you do realize that don’t you?’ she had asked her. Skye turned crimson and inside she was high-fiving and thumping her fists in the air at the thought her Mum’s words had conjured.

‘Skye you are not a child, you are a beautiful, smart and loving woman. It is not for me to judge but …’ she hesitated before going on, choosing her words carefully, ‘do you love him? You don’t have to answer but it is so very obvious that he is head over heels in love with you, do you feel the same way because it is a wonderful place to be in and I just want you to be happy?’ Skye nodded shyly. ‘Mum, I love him with all my heart. He makes me feel complete.’ Joan lent forward and hugged her tightly. ‘Well then, nothing more to be said is there except that I am very happy for you my darling,’ and getting up she went to the door, turning before she left the room, ‘sweetest dreams pet, I hope that they are all of your lover,’ and then she left. 

‘I missed you so much,’ Roland greeted her as she opened the door and took her in his arms and smothered her in kisses. ‘Good morning to you too,’ she grinned at him. ‘Oh god, will you two get a room or knock it off,’ Jen said as she passed them in the hall, ‘it’s nauseating,’ she groaned. ‘True love,’ she rolled her eyes before heading for the kitchen. ‘Morning Roland, how did you sleep,’ Joan asked smiling, ‘would you like a cuppa?’ ‘I would love one but we’re running a bit late already. ‘Next time,’ Skye promised and picked up her handbag and nodded. ‘Ok come on then, we best get a move on.’ 

They said their goodbyes with Jen shouting out a cheeky ‘Be good’ as they walked down the path and gave Roland a wink that he returned with a sparkle in his eyes that she very nearly swooned over. Skye pouted, ‘Heh what about me?’ she asked glaring at both him and Jen. ‘Jen gets a wink but I am saving something very special for you.’ She blushed as he held the door of the car open for her and he whispered into her ear, ‘I can’t wait to give it to you either.’ A shiver ran through her at the thought. ‘I can’t wait for you to give it to me either,’ she tried to sound demure and failed but he caught the look on her face and mumbled, ‘God give me strength, it’s going to be a long day.’

The traffic wasn’t too bad and they made it to work only a little later than normal. Pat was already at her desk and as they were still playing it safe, Roland went up first while Skye grabbed them both a coffee from Christine and was just heading into their office when Pat stopped her. ‘Hi how are you? Hope everything went ok with the police.’ Because Pat had bailed her up in the loo yesterday trying to find out about Skye’s weekend away, Skye had told her that they had worked late and witnessed the accident. She had brushed over the rest of the night, merely saying she had been shaken, had too much to drink and had stayed over with a friend who had then invited her to the country to get away from things. 

So far so good she thought to herself as she stood there talking casually with Pat about this and that.  
‘Oh by the way a delivery came for you just after you left early yesterday. I put it on your desk,’ Pat remarked. ‘A delivery for me, are you sure?’ Skye looked puzzled, ‘that’s strange the only thing that I have ordered lately is True Blood on pre order and that’s not out for a few weeks yet, right in time for Christmas, I ordered for Mum but I am sure she will share it with me. It can’t be that, I know it’s not released yet. I wonder what it could be.’ Pat shrugged, ‘I can safely say it’s not a DVD anyway, it’s far too big. Anyway I left it all on your desk for you so you will just have to get in there and open it.’ ‘Thanks, I better go see what the hell it is then.’ 

 

When she got to her desk she found a large box with two smaller ones stacked on top with a white envelope attached. Roland was on the phone deep in conversation with Nigel, though why he couldn’t just get up and come and see him both Skye and Roland never could figure out but Nigel loved to sit at his desk playing big shot they both secretly agreed and laughed when they had talked about it over the last few months. Putting her bag in her desk draw she sat down and opened the envelope, pulling out a single sheet of note paper with a distinctive line of writing on it saying simply: 

‘Do me proud.’


	48. Chapter 48

Skye quickly opened the large box and lifted the delicate layers of tissue paper to reveal a stunningly elegant little black dress. When she opened the smaller boxes she found one contained a pair of shoes and the other had the most divine little matching clutch purse. She was gob smacked. The dress was made from some kind of satin with an embossed velvet pattern delicately woven into it and it was in the form of a sheath, simply cut, figure hugging and totally do die for. The bodice was square cut but low, not obscenely low but low enough to be tantalizing and cunningly attached at the shoulder was a long chiffon scarf that was meant to be worn trailing off behind. There was a small oblong clasp of diamanté holding it in place. The shoes were killer heels in a fabric that was similar to that of the dress, the front of them with straps covered in diamanté entwined together that snaked up and met an ankle strap. They were designed to accentuate the shape of the wearers legs by the way the straps were placed. The purse was also covered in the same dull silky fabric with a diamanté clasp. 

She looked across at Roland but he was writing something on a scrap piece of paper which he motioned for her to take while pointing at the phone and rolling his eyes, unable to get away from Nigel at the moment. She read the note: “Hairdresser appointment, downstairs 2.30pm, full works, my treat. Open your purse.” She did as she was told and upon looking inside the small clutch she found a small black velvet box. She looked across at him and he signaled for her to wait. As soon as he was able to free himself of Nigel he hung up and jumped up and picking up the small velvet box he handed it to her. ‘I wanted you to have these, they match the outfit,’ he stammered a bit shyly now as he watched her face. She hadn’t said a word about the outfit, she was still too stunned to open her mouth but now, when she opened the box to reveal a pair of what she realised were enormously expensive earrings, she couldn’t help herself. 

‘Oh god, they are beautiful. Oh Rolly,’ she flung her arms around his neck and stood there hugging him. It was just as well the door and the blinds on the windows were closed he thought. Not that he minded but still. ‘I can’t believe that you have done this. I …’ she was lost for words. ‘I wanted you to have something nice to wear tonight, I want to show you off,’ he said timidly, ‘do you like it, if you don’t like the dress or the shoes or…’ She stopped him. ‘I love it, I love it all, they are beautiful,’ she told him with shinning eyes. He was grinning like a little kid now. ‘I made an appointment for you for this afternoon. I thought, why not go the whole hog? I am picking up a new suit and thought that I would do that while you get all dolled up. And Skye, I am not just doing this because tonight is important for the business you know, I want to see you looking like you should, only the best from now on for my girl and I am going to make sure that you have it. You deserve it.’

And to think that after going through her wardrobe last night she had rung Pat in desperation and asked her if she could borrow a dress that she had bought for a friend’s wedding with matching shoes, as they were roughly the same size, slim but well-endowed with it. Pat had even gone to the trouble of lugging everything in with her but now with the outfit that he had bought for her she definitely had no need of Pat’s assistance. She was more than just a little touched by what he had done, it was the most thoughtful thing anyone had ever done for her and no one had ever given her anything as expensive as the earrings either. All in all she was glowing with gratitude and with love. 

She had to do a bit of fudging with Pat though, thanking her profusely for all the effort that her friend had gone through in bringing in the outfit but telling her that she wouldn’t need it as a dress she had put on order for Christmas a while back, and had completely forgotten about, well it had miraculously turned up just in the nick of time and she would wear that instead because she was worried about something happening to Pat’s dress and all. She knew that it sounded so completely lame and felt really bad but she hoped one day she would be able to tell her the truth and be forgiven. 

The rest of the day went by in a bit of a dream for Skye. The morning was over before she even had time to think and then it was time to get downstairs and get her hair and make-up done while Roland picked up his suit. They arranged to meet back in their office by five as the invitation from Godfrey had been very specific about times and that they should be there by six. Even allowing for heavy traffic, they figured it would give them enough time to get there without rushing, after all it really wasn’t that far away from their own building. 

 

When she walked back into their office after leaving the salon and getting changed in the loo, Roland was already there in a sharp new dinner suit, black bow tie as per Godfrey’s requirements, and looking like he had just stepped off a red carpet but nothing had prepared him for the sight of Skye. His mouth dropped open and he gaped at her when she walked in. It wasn’t merely the fact that the outfit on her was perfect, but with the make-up and the hair style, she looked like she could grace any cat walk from London to Paris. If she had been nervous about how she looked any doubts that she had faded when she saw the look on his face. He looked at her ravenously as he murmured huskily, ‘My god, I could eat you.’ 

He glanced over to the door to make sure it was closed but as there seemed to be no one around at the time, most having left for the night, he thought that they were pretty safe and he pulled her in to him, running his hands down her back to squeeze her buttocks to him. ‘Wot’s that,’ he broke into a bit of slang in his surprise as his hands moved further down to the top of her thighs, ‘is that what I think it is?’ She nodded at him with a smile on her lips. ‘It’s your fault, I had to go and buy a strapless one piece corset because of the way my darling dress is cut and well,’ she blushed, ‘it came with suspenders, and stockings.’ He groaned. ‘How the hell do you really think that I am going to get through the night thinking about that and not being able to take you and have you?’ 

They were standing a little apart now just staring at each other. ‘You can talk,’ she ran her eyes over him, ‘don’t you think that I would give anything just to slip my hands in to your…’ ‘Don’t, don’t even say it, I am getting hard at the thought Skye, you are driving me crazy. Come on, as much as you know very well what I would much rather be doing, you know that we have to go. Nigel left ten minutes ago and we need to at least make an appearance at a reasonable time.’ She sighed, ‘I know, you are right of course and anyway, there is always later isn’t there?’ she purred suggestively. ‘Yes, later,’ he smirked, ‘I am holding you to that.’ 

‘So, tell me about Godfrey,’ she was curious as Rolly did seem to know him. They were in traffic now driving to the gathering and very in need of something to distract them from what was really on their minds. He shrugged. ‘I don’t know that much about him on a personal level except what I have been told or read but I have known him for years really, or I should say my father has. He was a self-made man, grew up in Cape Town till he was seven I think but has been here since then. Did it tough getting to where he is now and that is why he drives a hard bargain and doesn’t take to fools gladly. He is very much his own man.’

‘Wasn’t there some kind of tragedy to do with his wife or something? I can vaguely remember it being in the papers when I was younger. How old is he by the way?’ She was curious to find out more about him before they got there. In the event that she actually had to speak to him, she didn’t want to appear ill informed. Rolly nodded as he drove.

‘He married young from what I remember, I think it may even have been a childhood sweetheart, this was before he made all his money, then yes, his first wife was killed in a car accident along with his only child, a two year old boy. It was tragic. His second wife, well everyone said that wouldn’t work, that she was far too young for him and they were right, it didn’t work. There was a time that he disappeared from the social scene and really focused on business. I think that was how he met his third wife. From all accounts they seemed so very happy but then she was diagnosed with cervical cancer and was gone within three months of the diagnosis. He had been desperate to have children or at least a child to replace the family he had lost when he was younger and I believe when she fell pregnant there were complications. That was how they found out about the cancer so he lost not only his wife but the baby as well. I guess that is why he does so much for fund raising now.’

‘Oh god Rolly, that is terrible. He has had so much loss in his life.’ She pondered what it would be like to lose your life partner and your child and just couldn’t imagine that kind of pain and then to find love again and hope but to lose that too.

‘Are you okay?’ he asked her as she sat there quietly, not saying anything more. ‘Yes, it’s just that I was thinking what it would be like. I love kids so I just can’t imagine how anyone could go through that.’ ‘I know, neither can I. I love them too and it must have been crushing for him and now he has gone through losing his wife yet again and has no children. It must be hard on him but from all accounts, over the last couple of years since she died he has been seen out with a lot of women, trying to look for a replacement I guess.’ She shook her head as she thought about it. ‘But how, how can you ever replace the love of your life, I can’t even think about it without feeling sorry for him. And to think that he has just kept going, he really must be some guy,’ she murmured as they pulled into to a garage underneath one of the newer office buildings that had gone up recently, all glass and steel, bizarrely shaped and totally impressive. 

‘Well we’re here so you will get to meet him soon enough and see what you think of him for yourself. It is going to be an interesting night.’


	49. Chapter 49

The lift took them non-stop to the penthouse where Godfrey had his suite of offices reserved for himself and his entourage. There was a large reception come conference room with all the latest that technology could offer of course, a boardroom, his own luxuriously appointed office, a gym, a small apartment set aside for times when he wanted to grab some sleep or have a shower and change after long international flights, and by small we are talking in Godfrey’s standard but to anyone else it would be the size of an average large London flat. It included a kitchen, an en-suite and a walk in wardrobe; in fact anyone other than Godfrey could have lived there on a permanent basis in luxury quite easily. 

The décor was modern, uncompromising and a true reflection of the man himself. In other words there was not a speck of sentimentality to be seen. No money had been spared and everything was rich, plush but understated and expensive, even the small interview rooms that were next to the conference room and his office, even they were adorned with the latest art and sculptures more as statements to modernity than for any other reason. As richly appointed as it was, the whole set up lacked some personal touch, as though the person for whom it had all been created for had closed them self off and refused to disclose any kind of emotional attachment to anything in life in particular. An apt reflection of Godfrey’s personal circumstance and who could blame him after what he had been through Skye thought grimly to herself as she took everything in at a glance with some curiosity. 

The reception itself was held in a large area set aside for entertaining. The views from the windows across a large expanse of the city were stunning and as dusk turned to darkness and inky velvet descended, the whole of the panorama lit up like a twinkling fairyland. It’s been rumoured to be the best view in London, something that none of the invited guests that evening would deny and were totally charmed by. 

Of course an affair of that nature was fully catered for with sumptuous delicacies of the most divine finger food and champagne and cocktails of every description. The service was impeccable, waiters never far away and ready at a moment’s notice to replenish drinks, provide food or empty ashtrays, smoking being an indulgence that Godfrey partook of and flouted any legislation that prohibited such actions in anything but the privacy of his own home. It was his place so he would do what he liked and so would his guests and staff if they chose to, that was his attitude and bugger the law. ‘See what I mean,’ Roland had commented to Skye when she had been a little shocked at the smoke wafting around the room at one point in the night, ‘Godfrey lives by his own rules.’

When they had stepped out of the lift they were greeted by two immaculately dressed officials, Godfrey’s trusted assistants actually who, immediately upon reading their invitation cards, requested Skye and Roland to accompany them over to one side of the room where Godfrey almost appeared to be holding court in the centre of a group of other appropriately attired company executives whilst their wives and partners stood around making small talk. 

As they walked through the crowded room it was almost as though all the conversations in the room stopped. Heads turned and there were very few present that didn’t cast an admiring glance at the stunning couple striding confidently through the crowd. They may have looked confident but it was only Roland’s arm holding Skye’s that gave her that confident appearance. In reality she was as nervous as hell. She was unused to these kinds of functions and it was pretty heady stuff to be invited let alone to be there amongst such exalted business CEOs and the likes. Finally the crowd around Godfrey parted and she got her first vision of him. He was nothing like she had been expecting. 

It is human nature to put an image to a voice and Skye, going by Godfrey’s voice, had pictured him to be rather large, red faced and slightly balding with a bit of a pot belly. His gruffness, when they had spoken during negotiations, had given her a false impression of what to expect and she was stunned by the man holding out his hand to welcome her. He was the total opposite of what she had visualised. He was in fact quite stunning. 

She had no idea how old he was. He could have been anything from his early forties to his mid-fifties but it was so hard to tell because it was so obvious that he really took good care of himself. He was fit. He was more than fit actually, he had a superb physic, lean and muscular, testament to the punishing work out regime his personal trainer put him through every day. He was a little shorter than Roland, maybe five foot eight or nine but he stood tall with an erect posture so that made him look taller than he actually was. Instead of the mousy dull greying brown hair she had pictured, his hair was almost jet black and razor cut to perfection, brushed back and almost slicked down but not in a greasy oily way, it was more like something from a nineteen twenties movie and it framed his face to perfection… and what a face. 

He had the greenest eyes that she had ever seen. They were the colour of emeralds with a hint of gold around the center and they were piercingly observant. His natural complexion was hard to tell as he was tanned with a golden sheen that made his skin glow and when he smiled a welcome at the sound of her name, he had the whitest and most perfect teeth that she had ever seen outside of a Hollywood movie. All this was topped off with a flawlessly tailored dinner suit of black, crisp white shirt and black bow tie. ‘Skye,’ he took her hand and bowed over it and kissed it. 

Anyone else making such an old fashioned gesture would have been considered either the most ridiculous poser or a greasy grovelling little piece of goods but when Godfrey did it, well it was considered charming. ‘It is so nice to meet you finally. You are a bright and shining star my dear. Any time you want to leave that dreadful place you just let me know,’ he smoothly stated, ‘there is a job waiting for you right here and I must say, a more lucrative one at that.’ He was laughing and she wasn’t taken in but there was something about him that she found ludicrously captivating. Yes, he was charming, charming Skye and everyone else in the room. ‘And Roland,’ he shook his hand with a firm grip and drew him into him, ‘it is wonderful to see you again. I am glad that you could make it and bring your charming assistant.’ Even though he was addressing Roland, Godfrey’s eyes had never left Skye as he stood appreciating her, taking in everything that she was wearing, even appreciating the signature perfume she wore. She was a dazzling jewel amongst all the suited men in his circle. 

‘Good to see you too Godfrey but Skye is my partner, not my assistant,’ Rolly corrected him. The words sank in and he turned to Roland. ‘Your partner,’ and he gave a knowing small smirk, seeming to be amused, ‘lucky you is all I can say. You are a very lucky man to have such a beautiful and clever associate. I hope that he appreciates you my dear.’ 

He had turned back to Skye as she stood there staring at him. She had the distinct feeling that even though they had done a pretty good job as far as she knew of concealing their feelings at work, for some reason unbeknown to her she had the impression that he knew about their relationship and was amused by it. ‘Does he appreciate your many talents my dear Skye?’ he asked innocently enough but the way he had said the word “talents” as his eyes wondered over her, it made her give a small shiver of excitement. The only other man that she had ever seen look at her that way and have the same effect on her was Rolly and it made her feel as though she had no clothes on. Her whole body blushed at the implication and she was so overwhelmed she couldn’t think of one single thing to say. 

‘Come Skye, come and sit with me and tell me about yourself. Gentlemen, if you will excuse us,’ he said graciously, taking her arm and with Roland in tow, he swept passed the assembled throng and led her over to a quiet secluded couch in the corner of the room. Once seated he began to ask her all about herself, how long she had worked for the company, what her background was, her family, where she lived, what were her hobbies, her likes and dislikes, in fact there wasn’t much that he didn’t seem to cover. There was very little that he didn’t seem to want to know and he asked questions in such a way that she responded quite naturally and without suspicion.

This however was not quite how Roland, standing as close as he possibly could without seeming to be overly interested, saw things as he listened and observed the whole conversation, increasingly getting miffed by the obvious interest Godfrey had in her and her seemingly animated conversation and enjoyment of being with him. She was charmed and Roland knew it and was having the very first ever, for him, attack of jealously. 

Skye on the other hand was thrilled by the debonair man sitting beside her. At the back of her mind she couldn’t shake off the tragedies that had befallen him, so she was intrigued to find out if it had clouded his view of life. She saw no evidence that it had made him bitter and she admired that, after what he had been through, he would have had every right to just want to find a cave somewhere and retreat from life but not Godfrey, he had taken it all in his stride and dealt with the cards that had befallen him. 

‘Life is a challenge Skye, we all have to learn to face our fears,’ he told her.


	50. Chapter 50

Skye and Godfrey sat in animated conversation for what seemed like an eternity to Rolly as he stood silently watching the two of them as they talked together, her attention totally focused on the older man. It was only when one of Godfrey’s assistants came over to advise him he had an urgent call that he needed to take that finally Roland managed to get Skye to himself. Quickly seizing the opportunity, he grabbed her hand and led her out of the function room and down a dimly lit corridor with many closed doors leading off to the left and right, walking hurriedly down the empty space until the noise from the gathering faded and he opened a door that led into the empty board room pulling her in after him. 

‘Rolly what are you doing?’ Before she could get anything further out he had spun her around and was holding her against the closed door. He clamped his mouth over hers crushing her lips to his, fumbling with the lock of the door behind her back. ‘Rolly, what’s gotten into you?’ she managed to ask as his hands ran over her body and he lifted her so that she had to hang onto his neck as he carried her over to the huge boardroom table and laid her on it, pulling her dress up to around her thighs, revealing the tops of her stockings and little lace panties. 

He leant over her and kissed her again and again, his tongue and lips craving her, teasing her and seducing her as his fingers slipped under the flimsy lace and plunged into her core. She groaned at the touch of his hands as they caressed her and stirred her body into the wave of desire for him that was so familiar to her now. She was silky and needy and began to undulate matching his movements. ‘This better be for me Skye,’ he muttered as he unzipped his pants and felt for himself.

Roland had been standing there watching and listening as Godfrey charmed Skye and all the while he had felt something that he had never experienced. Had he been asked he would not even have been able to voice how he felt other than to say that Skye was his and no one had the right to even look at her let alone chat her up. He realised that was a totally unreasonable attitude to take but something inside was driving him to feel like this. 

He suddenly couldn’t bear to have Godfrey near her and the longer they talked the more the feeling grew. It didn’t help that she looked so god dam gorgeous and sexy and fuckable, if that was even a word, he had thought to himself. None of that mattered; all that mattered to him right at that moment was that he wanted her for himself. No one had the right to be sitting that close to her or to touch her hand or make her laugh as Godfrey had done. She was his and his alone. 

The longer he stood watching, the more he wanted her. He wanted to take her and make her come and see that delicious look of afterglow on her face knowing that he had put it there. The more that he thought about it the more his now painfully swollen erection throbbed with the need for release. Just the thought of her silken stockinged legs as he watched her cross them in the short dress, and the bustier she had told him that she had to buy, both were such turn-ons that they were driving him crazy. He had to have her and it had to be soon or he would explode, so as soon as the chance arose he had taken it without hesitation. 

‘This better be for me,’ he had said and she groaned. ‘It is all for you Rolly,’ she panted, ‘I love you, please, please take me.’ He almost sighed with relief at her words. ‘I love you Skye,’ he whispered hoarsely as he glided into her, ‘I love you.’ 

Skye hurriedly touched up her make-up, and straightened her clothes before they rejoined the others, hoping like hell that whoever it was that had tried the door of the room and found it locked while they had been in engrossed in their passion, had not reported it to anyone in particular. They made their way back to the function room in search of their host to make their goodbyes. They were eager now to leave and it had been a long day, they just wanted to get home. Skye had already rung her Mum to let her know that she would be staying at Rolly’s, something that didn’t surprise Joan one bit to be honest. She was a pragmatist and knew that there was no sense in her protesting; she was old enough to look after herself and besides, Rolly appeared so much in love with her that she felt she was in good hands. 

‘Skye my dear, I hope that you have been enjoying yourself,’ Godfrey smiled when they found him. The look on his face as he scrutinized her flushed face and glazed eyes told her that more than likely he knew very well who and what had taken place in his board room and he was somewhat amused by it. ‘I am hoping that one day I too will be able to provide further amusements that will leave you glowing as you are now,’ he whispered softly to her as he once again took her hand and kissed it, lingering a touch longer than was perhaps necessary, as they parted and said their goodbyes. Her mouth dropped open and she blushed as she looked into those emerald eyes of his, trapped for a moment in his gaze. She felt a whole world of intensity behind the look, something unfathomable and excruciatingly exciting. ‘It has been a pleasure meeting you,’ she responded politely, trying to snap out of his hypnotic gaze. ‘Oh trust me my dear, the pleasure will be all mine.’

‘He wants to get into your pants.’ They were half way back to Rolly’s place and he hadn’t said a word till now. She was about to protest when the vision of Godfrey’s eyes and the touch of his lips on her hand made her think again. ‘Rolly, don’t be silly,’ she exclaimed rather weakly. ‘I am not being silly, I am a man and I know other men. He wants you and he wants you badly. I can tell. Not that I blame him one bit but ….’ ‘What, but what?’ she asked, curious to know what he was thinking. She was woman enough to get a small thrill from the way that Godfrey had looked at her and also from the way that Rolly was reacting. 

‘Nothing,’ he muttered. ‘What do you mean nothing,’ she said a little sharper than she had intended, disappointed that he hadn’t gone on with his comment, ‘I want to know what you mean.’ ‘I don’t want to talk about it.’ ‘Hang on, what do you mean that you don’t want to talk about it. You can’t just half say something and not finish it. Rolly what the hell are you on about?’ She was starting to lose her temper now, the night had been such a mixture of adrenalin on so many levels that her mind was pinging off in a million different directions and she was becoming exhausted by it and confused too.

She looked at him in profile as he stared straight ahead seeming to give all his concentration to his driving but she could see the set of his jaw as his lips clamped down tight and she realised that he was not going to respond. After a few minutes of brooding silence she couldn’t help herself when she remarked, ‘Well at least if we are going to have a fight then if you don’t mind, I would like to know what the hell we are fighting about.’ He had turned into the narrow lane that lead to the mews and his garage by this time and didn’t respond until he had negotiated the car safely into the garage and turned off the engine. 

‘Is that what this is, are we having a fight,’ he asked, his voice breaking as he stared straight ahead unable to look at her. ‘I don’t know, you tell me. Are we, are we having a fight?’ ‘Skye,’ in moments he had her in his arms, kissing her and holding her. ‘I couldn’t bear it if we fought, I … I am sorry, I don’t know what is wrong with me. It’s just that the way he looked at you tonight, the way that he made you feel…’ She hung her head a little, ashamed at herself. He was right of course, she had been a little intoxicated by Godfrey and she regretted it now but it was all pretty heady stuff for someone from her background and with her lack of self-worth.

‘Rolly I am sorry. I am so sorry. I mean it when I say that I love you. I want to be with you and no one else. I … I’m not used to having a man pay me attention, well not like that and well it kind of was flattering but that doesn’t mean that you aren’t everything to me because you are. I love you and nothing is ever going to change that. Nothing! Please say you forgive me.’ ‘I am sorry too babes, I have never been in this position either, never been with anyone that is so desirable that I have to practically fight other guys off. I never thought that I could find someone like you, as beautiful as you are, and I just don’t know how to act.’

‘I was so…’ he thought for a moment, ‘I was so jealous.’ He said the word like it was some kind of foreign language, one that he had never used and was unaccustomed to. ‘Friends again, can you forgive me?’ he asked as he looked into her eyes. 

She sighed with contentment and relief too. 

‘Oh I am planning on us being a lot more than friends before we get some sleep,’ and she reached up and pulled him into her embrace, the rest of the night forgotten in an instant as she sat there in his arms. ‘A lot more than just friends,’ he murmured huskily into her mouth as they sat locked together in the front seat of his car, ‘in fact,’ he said suggestively, ‘I would say more like bosom buddies,’ and his hands mimicked his sentiments.


	51. Chapter 51

‘So what would you like for Christmas?’ Skye asked Rolly as they walked down the street window shopping. It was Friday night and the weather had turned cold. A sharp wind was blowing in gusts that seemed to penetrate even the thick overcoats they were wearing. Rolly put his arm around her protectively and looked down smiling. ‘I have everything that I want, as long as you are with me.’ She looked up at him and smiled. ‘Are you quite sure about that,’ she smirked, her hand looped through his arm reaching down into his coat pocket and discreetly rubbing him. ‘Oh my god Skye, you are going to be the death of me,’ he exclaimed. ‘What,’ she laughed attempting innocence, ‘there’s no one around and hmm…’ she stroked him a little harder, ‘don’t tell me that you don’t like it because I know that you do.’

He stopped walking and grabbed her in his arms, planting a kiss firmly on her inviting lips and at the same time wrapping his overcoat around her, cocooning their bodies together. ‘Sod shopping, let’s go home. I have a big present that I want to give you right now and I can’t wait for you to unwrap it,’ he winked lewdly. ‘Oh no you don’t,’ she laughed as she broke free of his grasp, ‘didn’t you tell me that you have to get a present for Sarah tonight and you wanted my help? Come on,’ she grabbed his hand and started dragging him up the street laughing, ‘now what did you have in mind to get her, knowing you it will be something extraordinary, you have such good taste?’ 

He allowed himself to be cajoled into traipsing into various shops before stopping outside of what looked in Skye’s eyes to be a pretty exclusive jeweller's window. ‘What about a ring?’ he asked looking at Skye. ‘A ring?’ she questioned turning her attention to the window display, ‘you mean a dress ring? Do you know her size?’ Rolly shrugged before answering, ‘Well no not really but seeing that you fit her clothes I thought that maybe you could try one on and it might fit her. If it doesn’t or she doesn’t like it then she can always exchange it for something else.’ ‘Rolly a bracelet or pendent would be more practical and appropriate you know,’ but seeing the determined look on his face she knew it was useless to argue with him so she pointed to a nice ruby coloured stone set in gold. It was cut in the shape of a baguette and set with two smaller stones either side. 

‘Do you like that one?’ he asked. ‘I love baguettes; there is something about the shape that I find appealing.’ ‘Do you think that Sarah would like it?’ he asked doubtfully, he didn’t know a thing really about what women like or don’t like so he was pretty much relying on her good taste to pick something that she though that Sarah would like. ‘She’d be mad not to,’ Skye laughed. ‘Okay then come on, we’ll go in and you can try it on then if it fits let’s get it and then let’s go home, we can pick up a curry on the way and have some wine and then…’ he squeezed her hand suggestively. ‘Oh yes and then what?’ ‘Well I rather feel like having a soak in the bath, it’s been rather a long week.’ ‘That sounds perfect, come on l can’t wait.’

By the time they got back to Rolly’s and ate it was after eleven. Sarah was away for weekend and they had the place to themselves for the next two days so they had sprawled out draped over the couch, comfortable in each other’s company. Skye yawned and Rolly followed suit. ‘You’re tired,’ he commented as he stroked her cheek. She nodded lazily, full of good food and wine. ‘I am a bit,’ she said trying hard to suppress another yawn. ‘Too tired for a bath?’ he asked casually, his eyes gleaming in the light of the lamp on the side table. His hand continued stroking her gently as he moved it ever so slowly down her neck and traced her collar bones, the mere touch of his hand on her skin sending a shiver through her.

She glanced down at herself and looked up at him. ‘Look, just have a look at what you do to me,’ she said ruefully, her erect nipples poking out of her silk shirt. ‘Well you know what you do to me, it’s painfully obvious,’ he retorted, glancing down to the substantially bulge in his pants, ‘besides, don’t change the subject, you didn’t answer me, are you too tired for a bath?’ ‘A hot bath sounds perfect.’ ‘Wait here,’ he replied huskily, jumping up and rearranging himself into a more comfortable position before bounding up the stairs and disappearing, the sound of running water reaching her ears within moments.

When he came back down he found her sorting through the parcels they had bought and left on the coffee table. ‘We did quite well really. I only have to buy something for Paul now and that’s me done. Well for Paul and for you,’ she corrected herself. ‘I told you before, I don’t want anything really, all I want is you.’ She frowned. ‘I really want to give you something that you would like, something that …’ he cut her off before she could go on, taking her in his arms and gazing into her eyes. ‘Skye I mean it,’ his face had a serious expression on it that she seldom saw, ‘I just want you but,’ he hesitated, ‘there is something you could give me,’ and leaning down he kissed her. ‘What, what is it?’ ‘You can scrub my back,’ he laughed, ‘now come on, bath time,’ and he scooped her up and carried her upstairs as she squealed with laughter.

How he had managed to light all the candles that were scattered around the tub when he had come up to fill it she didn’t know but when he carried her in and deposited her gently on the warm tiled floor, the underfloor heating being sheer luxury compared to Skye’s rather worn and serviceable tatty but homely bathroom at home, she really didn’t know. But that was Rolly for you, he was a mastermind at getting things accomplished she thought to herself as she stood watching him test the water with his hand and add yet even more bath oil. The aroma of the candles combined with the intoxicating fragrance of the oil in the water was sending her into an erotic seventh heaven.

She didn’t know why but suddenly she became very shy. He was so gorgeous and to die for when really she was nothing special, the voice in the back of her head was telling her. The heady feelings of self-appreciation she had felt earlier in the week after Godfrey’s attention to her had evaporated and right at that moment she was wondering what Rolly saw in her as he took his clothes off and stood before her looking like a god. And what a god she reflected. Every inch of him was beautiful, from his auburn hair and blue eyes through to his sculptured and lean body. If that wasn’t enough to make any woman swoon with desire, he was what some would term to be hung like a horse. 

She almost giggled at the thought but then stopped herself as her body responded to the sight in front of her. He didn’t have to do a single thing to have her wanting him, her body craved him like a drug. ‘What is it, what is wrong?’ he asked her walking over to her as she stood quite still staring at him. 

‘I don’t deserve you, you are too beautiful for me,’ she almost burst into tears, hanging her head so she didn’t have to look at him. ‘Heh,’ he took her face in his hands gently forcing her to look up at him. ‘It’s me that doesn’t deserve you. You have no idea how much I don’t rate compared to you. Skye when I first saw you, you took my breath away. There hasn’t been one minute of every single day since that first night that I haven’t wanted you. I want to lock us up in a room and never come out. I want to kiss every inch of your body and your beautiful mind and hold you in my arms and never let you go. Don’t you know I am desperately in love with you? You are my world, my everything, I love you so much it hurts.’ 

He hugged her to him kissing her silken hair, his arms wrapped around her holding her tightly. ‘Rolly that is how I feel about you,’ she murmured into his chest as he held her. ‘I love you so much it … it scares me.’ She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. He looked at her adoringly, time standing still until he leaned in and crushed his lips to hers. Without breaking their kiss his hands moved down her body and unbuttoned her shirt pushing the fabric from her shoulders until it slid down her arms and onto the floor. He reached around her snapping the clasp of her bra and slipped the straps down her arms, her full breasts warm against his bare skin. Her skirt and stockings soon joined the rest of her clothes on the floor and they stood holding each other in their nakedness. 

Taking her hand in his he stepped up to the edge of the bath and then down into the hot foaming water, handing her in before sitting down and gently pulling her after him. She leaned back against him, his long legs wrapping around hers, her back moulding into his chest. Taking his sponge and soaping it into a mass of frothing bubbles he began to slowly and seductively wash her, starting with her shoulders then working his way down her back before reaching around her to her throat and working his way down until he reached her breasts. 

He let the sponge drop into the water as his hands felt for her and he cupped her, ever so gently teasing her already erect nipples. He felt her body tense at the sensation, her breathing becoming more rapid against him. He kissed her neck running small nips up her shoulders to just behind her ear. She moaned and rocked against him, against his hardness, his body responding instantly. ‘Skye,’ he whispered into her ear, his hand running down her stomach and hips to find her, slipping his long sensual fingers between her legs. 

She turned her head until her lips found his, their tongues meeting in a frenzy of desire. ‘I want you Rolly, I want you so much.’


	52. Chapter 52

The weeks flew past with the ceaseless rush of shopping, end of year deadlines and endless rounds of Christmas drinks that are all par for the course at that time of the year, culminating with the office Christmas party. This year was different though as far as the company was concerned, it was not the normal drinks after work with a few warm beers, some mediocre sodden finger food and a lot of sad and tired looking employees. This year Rolly insisted on putting on a bang up event for everyone there as a token of appreciation for the successful turnaround the company had accomplished since he had come on board. 

He had been organizing it with Skye’s help for weeks after Joan’s reminder that Christmas was not far off. They had hired an entire club, no expense spared to get the booking at short notice with most venues already booked out months beforehand, and there was not one single member of the company that didn’t turn up and have a great time. No one got roaring drunk and made a fool of themselves thankfully and everyone agreed it was the best party they had ever been to, the highlight being the speech Rolly gave that not only had everyone in stitches with his sense of humour but the added surprise of bonuses for every employee had made the evening an outstanding success and left the night on a high note.

Although they were still trying to keep their relationship under cover and had continued to be as discreet as possible, the party was very nearly their undoing when some wag had produced a bunch of mistletoe and had gone around the room picking on unsuspecting party goers with the usual insistence of an obligatory quick snog. When they approached Rolly and Skye a fleeting look of panic passed across both their faces and no amount of refusal on either of their parts would be accepted by the whole room now. Everyone was watching and a chant soon broke out urging them both on. Phones were out ready to snap a picture of the deed and even Nigel yelled his encouragement, much to their embarrassment. 

The two of them were so much admired and respected for their hard work and commitment. Regardless of how busy Roland was, he always took the time to stop and talk to every single person he saw, listening and encouraging them, insisting on an open door policy as far as any new ideas or suggestions went. He was admired for the changes he had implemented that had made everyone’s working life a joy to be part of.

As for Skye, she had always been much liked amongst her peers but now she was more thank liked, she was looked up to with admiration and as a role model for all. In short, they were both so well liked that everyone secretly hoped that they would actually get together, though inter office relationships were generally frowned upon, they weren’t illegal, it was more of an ethical thing really working with one’s partner regarding transparency or even favouritism but no one would begrudge these two anything, they were above that kind of thing because they were so loved and regarded so highly.. 

When Rolly grinned sheepishly and shrugged, Skye nearly died. No, this couldn’t be happening she was thinking, her eyes meeting his and finding sympathy in them. Pat was standing beside her and whispered in to her ear, ‘Go on do it, you know you really want to and everyone else here wants to see it happen.’ Skye turned ready to give her a piece of her mind but when she looked at the sincerity on her friend’s face she knew that she really meant it and the words died on her lips. Turning back to Rolly, he gave her the smallest of nods and a wink and leant in and pecked her on the cheek much to the cheers of the crowd. ‘You are so going to get it when we get home,’ he whispered into her ear before quickly breaking the embrace and the crowd roared their approval as she turned beet root red.

‘Dance, come on give her a spin around the dance floor,’ Sean a young buck from accounts yelled out, ‘here, make it a slow one,’ he urged the DJ. Dance, dance, dance, the crowd chanted egging them on until they both realised there was nothing for it but to give in. The irony wasn’t lost on either of them when the opening bars of the song that Rolly had been playing the night that she had first heard him sing, came floating across the room. 

They made a stunning couple as they slowly did a circuit of the dance floor, everyone in the room watching them and feeling the chemistry for so long carefully hidden so very apparent. There was not one person there that didn’t feel they were witnessing two people very much perfect for each. Well perhaps not everyone, for in the farthest corner of the room Sylvia stood glowering, a look of menace and disgust barely hidden on her face, internally seething with jealousy. But no one really noticed as all eyes were on Roland and Skye capping off what was to many there the most perfect work function they had ever been to. It had been some night and some year they all agreed as they left. 

Before Rolly and Skye knew it, it was the night before Christmas Eve. Skye sat on the floor of Rolly’s lounge room wrapping the last of the Christmas presents they would take over to her Mum’s on Christmas Eve. It was a tradition in her house that all the presents would be placed under the Christmas tree on the night before Christmas so that when the family gathered on Christmas morning they would be handed out for everyone to open. She was curling some ribbon on a present for Jen while Rolly was getting some drinks when she spoke.

‘Babes, can I ask you something?’ She looked up as he walked over and handed her a drink. ‘Sure honey you can ask me whatever you want to.’ She hesitated before going on. ‘Why did you want to get Sarah a ring? I mean, it’s not normally something a brother would give to a sister,’ she stated rather puzzled. He sighed and frowned. Silence filled the room as she waited for him to speak but he seemed to be lost in his own thoughts. When he did speak he seemed to do so rather reluctantly as if he was recalling something that he had wanted to forget Skye thought as she watched his face drain of colour as he spoke. ‘Well, it’s like this,’ he took a sip of his drink and went on, ‘my grandmother had a beautiful ruby ring that she always wore and right from when Sarah was little she was besotted with it, so much so that Grans always told her that someday she would give it to her.’

Skye waited while he took another sip of his drink and began speaking again. ‘After she died my father, who just happened to be looking after the estate, he decided in his infinite wisdom that because Sarah hadn’t conformed to his wishes and taken the path in her schooling that he had decided was appropriate for her… he sold the ring and some other things that had belonged to Grans. Just like that,’ Rolly snapped his fingers to emphasize the suddenness of his Father’s actions, ‘callous bastard.’ He took another long pull on his drink, his face contorted with loathing at the remembrance. ‘Sarah was heartbroken,’ he finished.

‘Oh darling that is horrible,’ Skye said shaken, ‘surely with all the money…’ ‘Yes,’ he broke in bitterly, ‘it’s not like he’s short of a quid is it?’ Skye scrambled onto her knees and grabbed him in a bear hug. ‘I am so sorry but you know Sarah is going to love the ring. It is so sweet of you to get it for her. You know you are the most precious caring person I know. I understand now why you…’ ‘Why I hate my Father? Skye babes you just don’t know the half of it, if you only did.’

His face was full of anguish and when she thought about it later, it wore such a look of regret that it tore at her. If only he would tell her the full story, there was something else that he was keeping deep down locked up within himself she felt, something that he couldn’t share with her but which she hoped one day he would be able to. It didn’t matter as far as she was concerned what it was, all families have their issues, some more than others she guessed. She had been so lucky to have come from a loving family that stuck together no matter what and she loved them for it and she wanted that for everyone. She knew whatever it was that was behind the resentment Rolly it was deep and it was a burden that was eating at him and she hoped for his sake that he could unburden himself to her one day. 

She hoped.


	53. Chapter 53

On the final working day before they broke up for the Christmas break, when all the staff showed up at work in the morning they were astounded to find a small gift with a complimentary card advising them that the office would be closing down until the second of January and wishing them a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. As if all the employees weren’t happy enough with the new conditions, the Christmas party, and the announcement of bonuses, the news of an unexpected longer holiday and the gorgeously wrapped gifts we the icing on the cake. 

Every employee bare none received one, it had been something that both Rolly and Skye had put a lot of thought into and until they had finally come up with something that was perfect for an IT design company – they each received an Android tablet, complete with a proto type of the new app that they had been working on, with a voucher for a design your own cover and instructions on how to give feedback on the app for when they returned to work in the new year. 

The place was buzzing and very little work got completed but Roland didn’t mind, in fact he encouraged it. With Skye in tow they made a point of doing the rounds and personally wishing every single person there a happy holiday, stopping to chat and already getting positive feedback from everyone present about the new app. 

‘See, I told you that it would be a success,’ Rolly grinned as they wandered through the office, ‘you just have to believe in yourself. I know it is an extravagance but we have had such a turnaround in the last six months that the company can wear it and besides, it is going to be a good litmus test. We would have had to do testing on it anyway so we’ve killed two birds with one stone and trust me, this lot will let us know pronto if there are any bugs that need ironing out. They are all tech savvy and I would like to think that they are proud of what they do so they won’t want to let something out onto the market that wasn’t perfect.’ ‘My genius,’ Skye laughed before being stopped by two of the girls from marketing who simply drooled over Rolly. 

It took nearly the whole day to get around to seeing everyone and then to have drinks with Nigel and Pat in Nigel’s office, something that only happened on very rare occasions but this was special and they were all in a celebratory mood. ‘Here’s to the two of you,’ Nigel toasted and raised his glass to Rolly and Skye in salute much to their discomfort, ‘we all owe you both a great deal of debt for turning this place around and breathing a breath of fresh air into it, a new life. I couldn’t have done it, the two of you should be very proud of yourselves.’ They glanced at each other momentarily before Rolly raised his eyebrows. ‘No, here’s to the company and its continued success,’ he contradicted Nigel. They all drank in silence for a moment then laughed, ‘Here’s to us then,’ and they clicked their glasses together, ‘it’s going to be an exciting New Year.’

‘Are you coming Skye?’ Pat asked as she stood in the door of their office while Skye finished logging off. ‘Oh umm, you go ahead, I have to go to the loo and I want to make sure I’ve put my voicemail message on, I’ll give you a call on Boxing day Pat. You have a wonderful day tomorrow and send my love to that hunk of yours. We will have to catch up before New Years, maybe even catch a movie or do some shopping or something.’ She gave her a quick hug and a kiss and headed off to the powder room with her handbag. ‘Are you coming Rolly? Nigel is ready and waiting in his office. Seems like we are the last ones out again so don’t forget to turn off the lights. The cleaners won’t be back in until next week. The building contractors notified me they are giving them the week off too following our example,’ Pat laughed. ‘Right you are, give me a sec I’ll just grab my laptop and bag and be with you in a flash, you go on I’ll be in, in a moment,’ he replied. 

As soon as he was gone Rolly dived into his desk draw and quickly grabbed a couple of things, shoving them into his pocket before closing down his computer and checking that everything was locked up and stowed away, turning off the lights before heading into Nigel’s office. ‘Come on mate,’ Nigel greeted him impatiently, ‘I’ve got to be off, it’s alright for you singles, foot loose and fancy free but I have to get home and get the presents under the tree and play Santa. The kids are expecting big things. I can’t wait to see the looks on their faces when they open their presents.’ He put his arm around Rolly’s shoulder in a fatherly fashion saying, ‘You don’t know what you are missing not having kids. It’s the best thing in the world seeing their faces at Christmas. It’s precious. Don’t you think it’s about time you found someone and settled down?’ 

Rolly could smell the whiskey on Nigel’s breath and wondered just how much early celebrating he had already done for the day but he also knew that Nigel had a driver waiting to take him home so at least he wasn’t out on the road. ‘Have you ever thought that you don’t have to look far for the perfect woman Roland,’ he was saying as they turned the corner just as Skye came out of the toilet and walked towards them, ‘not very far at all.’ He nudged him and gave him a conspiratorial wink as they watched her coming towards them beaming at the sight of the two of them with Nigel’s arm around Roland’s shoulder, Pat laughing and rolling her eyes. 

‘Now just what are you two up to, you look like two naughty little kids,’ she laughed. Rolly’s eyes ran over her taking in the graceful way she was moving, her long legs shown off a treat in the little dress she had bought at the suggestion of Sandra in the downstairs boutique, ‘It’s a Christmassy number, we only got a couple in and that red colouring will suit you down to the ground. Go on get it, shout yourself, I thought of you the minute the buyer showed it to me,’ she’d urged Skye and that was that. She’d tried it on and the minute she saw her reflection she had fallen in love with it. She felt good in it and she kind of had an inkling that Rolly would love it. It was just the sort of outfit that he loved seeing her in, figure hugging, buttons down the front and well above the knee. Judging by the expression on his face as she walked towards them she was right. 

They had just gotten level with the door to their right that led into the stairwell as she approached and with a tiny flick of his head and sliding of his eyes, that the other’s didn’t notice, Rolly motioned to the closed door. It took a moment for his meaning to sink in but she thought she knew what he meant so as she drew near them she blurted out that she had realised she’s left her wallet in the bottom of her lock draw and would have to go back for it. At that moment the bell of the lift went to announce its arrival. ‘Why don’t you all go on, I’ll just run back and get it then ring Mum to tell her I am running late. Don’t bother waiting I’ll be fine.’ 

By this time Nigel was looking at his watch impatiently and Pat knew she didn’t have much time before her bus would arrive. ‘Are you sure? I can stay with you, I don’t like the idea of you being on your own,’ Pat volunteered. She was so sweet and the best friend anyone could have. ‘Look why don’t you two go on, I can wait for Skye. I don’t really like the idea of her being here on her own either and I don’t have anything much on so I am not really in a tearing hurry to get going. Nigel I know you are anxious to get out of here and we’ve already made you late, you too Pat,’ Rolly urged, then had a sudden thought, ‘in fact Nigel, why don’t you give Pat a lift? It’s on your way isn’t it?’ he asked innocently. 

‘Oh no, that’s really not necessary honestly,’ Pat protested, ‘I can catch a later bus it would only mean that I would be half an hour or so late to meet Andrew.’ ‘No Pat you have plans, please it’s okay,’ Skye said looking guilty. ‘Right young lady,’ Nigel interrupted, ‘no buts about it, I am giving you a lift home, now come on or we will all be still standing here on Boxing Day the way it’s going,’ Nigel remarked, ‘and you two, have a good Christmas, see her home will you Roland, and just remember what I said all right?’ With that they turned and took the lift and were gone. 

Finally they were on their own.


	54. Chapter 54

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A huge thank you to all of you who have stayed with this story and continued to not only read but to leave comments and I just wanted to wish you all a fangtastic Christmas and a Moya New Year.
> 
> Love you all very much and totally appreciate all the support. 
> 
> Merry Christmas!

Rolly looked hastily around and not until seeing the place quite deserted did he grab her hand in his and pull her into the stairwell, closing the door behind him. ‘Rolly, what are you doing?’ Skye barely got out before he had her pinned to the wall, his lips searching for hers, his hands running over her body. Gently but urgently, he fingered her breasts searching for her nipples through the fabric of her dress. ‘If you wear something as hot as that dress you can’t expect me to be able to control myself for long and trust me, I just can’t do it for a minute longer,’ he breathed into her mouth, ‘I’ve wanted to rip it off you and take you on the desk all day.’ 

She couldn’t speak even if she had wanted to since his lips were clamped over hers and his tongue was probing her mouth making it more than clear that he was serious with his intentions. His body was pressing hard against her and she could feel his arousal and that in its self was exciting her, let alone what his tongue was doing to her. She didn’t care that they were still at work, feeling secure that everyone had left for the holidays and that they were relatively safe from prying eyes, or so she hoped. But if she was being entirely honest with herself, right at that moment she didn’t give a flying fuck if they were even sprung. All she could think about was what Rolly was doing as he moved his hand up her leg, lifting her dress and inching over the top of her silky stockings to stroke her thighs. 

He took her hand in his free one and moved it very decisively over his hip to his crutch, giving a little thrust of encouragement as she felt for him through his pants, her fingers running up and down his stiffened length. Her legs were going to water with feelings pinging through her body. She felt like she was turning into a hot mess of uncontrollable desire for him and for what he was doing to her, his hand by now having found the lace of her panties and slipping into her wetness. 

She hadn’t been idle either as her hands fumbled in her excitement but somehow managing to get his fly undone and slip searching fingers into his jocks. Normally he went commando but she had persuaded him that when working he definitely needed the support and, she hesitated, she thought that they may help conceal him as he was embarrassed by his size. She had laughed in disbelief when he had first told her how he really related to woman when men talked to their breasts and not to their face, explaining that there had been times when he had felt the same humiliation for his attributes. She has sympathized with him because she knew what it was like to have a conversation with someone that never once has looked past your physical attributes. 

 

He had looked so forlorn when he had been talking that she took it seriously and she pointed out that going commando is so revealing that it was no wonder the girls in accounts practically drooled over him every time he walked past. She’d seen their eyes running over him and even though she was so very proud of him, she felt his discomfort at being ogled like that. So she had gone out and bought him copious amounts of underwear and converted him. Only for weeks days mind you, she had insisted, not for the weekends or after work when it was just the two of them and as she put it to him, ‘When I need quick access,’ she blushed. 

Now as her hands began to stroke him he began to match her rhythm with his long sensuous finger until they were pleasuring each other in unison. ‘Oh my god Skye, you are so hot and wet,’ he groaned into her mouth, her hand responding to his voice, increasing her movements until she felt that divine moment of ultimate engorgement and it was enough to push both of them over the edge. 

They stood clinging on to each other panting with the intensity of the experience, surprised by the ferocity of their body’s reactions. It took quite some time until they could both regain their composure and even then, had they run into someone they knew, it would not have been hard to guess what they had been up to as they both wore the unmistakable dew of a bloody fantastic orgasm, Rolly was thinking to himself. 

Tucking himself firmly away he helped her straighten her clothing and then before opening the door, he looked into her eyes. She was puzzled by the look on his face. He had gone a little pale, making the freckles that were so astonishingly cute scattered randomly over his cheeks, stand out a little against his skin. ‘Are you okay,’ she asked. He nodded and swallowed before clearing his throat once or twice. ‘Sure,’ he responded softly, his voice barely audible. ‘Are you sure?’ she asked again. ‘I… I err yes. I am sure. Come on,’ he swallowed and cleared his throat again, ‘we had better get a move on or the security will start doing their rounds soon.’ 

He took her hand in his and she noticed his palm was sweating. ‘You’re not coming down with something are you? Here, let me feel,’ and she put her hand on his forehead. ‘Rolly you are really hot,’ she looked at him. ‘Thanks babes I think you are hot too,’ he said a little lamely, with a weak smile. ‘That’s not what I meant and you know it. Do you feel okay? Your voice sounds a bit croaky and you are shaking. Do you think you should see a doctor?’ ‘No, I am okay, honestly. I just want to hit the road babes.’ He looked at her and looked away, half hiding his face from her.

She didn’t know what was wrong with him. She had never seen him anything but calm and in control. He had seemed fine only minutes ago and now he seemed so different. If she didn’t know better she would swear that he was suddenly anxious. Sweaty palms, quivering voice and shaking, no that couldn’t be, what did he have to be anxious about she asked herself, unless he really did think that they may have gotten caught in the act so to speak but even that, had it happened, and as bad as it might seem – well maybe if they had been caught out it would more than likely be put down to too much Christmas celebrating. Not that she would want it to happen though and anyway it hadn’t. 

She knew that they had been pretty lucky really. No one really suspected them despite the rather serious conversation that she had with Pat the day after the Christmas do when they met to have coffee and a catch up. It had been ages since they had the time to get together with both of them being so very busy. Nigel had really ramped up Pat’s work load after becoming enthused by the direction the company was being taken in by Rolly and Skye’s visions so getting together with just the girls had become a thing of the past. 

They had been sitting in the coffee shop talking about the night before and Pat very subtly bought up how good Skye and Rolly looked together. ‘I know it’s none of my business but well,’ she had hesitated, ‘Skye the two of you really look like you are made for each other and you both work so well together. You both light up like Christmas trees when you are around each other. Everyone can see it. It just shines out of you both. I don’t want to pry, and you can tell me to mind my own business but … has he ever tried anything,’ she looked at Skye, ‘has he ever asked you out for instance?’ 

So it had finally come. Skye had always dreaded Pat asking her. She knew sooner or later she would. It was only natural and she had thought long and hard about whether she could lie so blatantly to her closest friend. She had already had to stretch the truth a few times and felt so very guilty that she had, but now when push came to shove, she didn’t think that she could really lie and deny it to her face. But luckily she didn’t have to for just at that moment Christine came over bearing a plate with some divine looking biscuits on it in honor of the two of them making it down for a coffee instead of just grabbing a takeaway in a disposable cup, telling them both how much she missed seeing them and asking how they were, what was news and for gossip too. She just loved to hear her customer’s gossip. 

She admitted to herself that she had been relieved that not only had she dodged the bullet and been saved from lying to Pat but also that they hadn’t been found out. There was something a little thrilling about no one knowing about them. It had almost become a game to keep it hidden and private and their own little world. She knew that sooner or later the bubble would burst but she hoped that it wasn’t in some tacky kind of way. Only time would tell she guessed but right now they had over a week of holidays to spend together and it was Christmas Eve and they should be enjoying themselves, and yet here she was, worried that there was something wrong with Rolly. 

She looked at him and he stared back then put his arm around her. ‘Come on,’ he glanced at his watch, ‘time to go.’ They walked to the lift and he pushed the button. It took a few seconds before it arrived, having to come up from the ground floor and he stood back to usher her in. She turned and pressed the button for the ground floor as the lift doors closed then got the shock of her life when he leant over to the paneling next to the door and pushed the stop button. 

‘Rolly, what are you doing?’

The lift came to an abrupt halt and silence engulfed them. ‘What on earth is going on?’ she asked again. He stood their looking at her with his beautiful eyes as big as saucers, looking almost terrified before suddenly dropping to his knee and fumbling in his pocket. ‘Skye,’ he almost squeaked before clearing his throat, taking a deep breath and seemingly pulling himself together again. 

‘Skye,’ he took her hand in his and found that she was now shaking too. 'Skye.....'


	55. Chapter 55

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas to all those that have been so kind to read this little effort and many thanks for all the support and comments.
> 
> You all rock!

‘Rolly, what are you doing?’ The lift came to an abrupt halt and silence engulfed them. ‘What on earth is going on?’ she asked again. He stood their looking at her with his beautiful eyes as big as saucers, looking almost terrified before suddenly dropping to his knee and fumbling in his pocket. ‘Skye,’ he almost squeaked before clearing his throat, taking a deep breath and seemingly pulling himself together again. ‘Skye,’ he took her hand in his and found that she was now shaking too.

‘Skye….’

‘Rolly you are scaring me. What is going on?’ she almost demanded. She had no idea what was happening when he had pressed the emergency button and was bewildered but when he dropped down on his knee her heart nearly did a somersault and she began to shake like a leaf. She was terrified.

Rolly was trying to speak. He had had it planned in his head for days, for weeks really ever since that morning in the dawn light when he had told her that he loved her. From that moment on he knew that his heart belonged to her. No matter where he went or what happened to him, for the rest of his life Skye was the only thing that mattered to him. Being without her was just not possible; it was like contemplating living without breathing. 

He knew that he had to have her, not to own her or smother her – other than in kisses that is, but to share every waking moment together. Without her he was just an empty husk of a person going through life with little or nothing to show for the hard work he put in, devoid of any real aim and consumed by his past. But that all changed the day he met her. She is more than the love of his life, she is his life and he knew it right from the start. 

So this was it, this was the moment he had been dreaming of for weeks. It all came down to this. Everything, his whole future happiness rested on the next few moments of his life and what he would say to her and she would say to him – if he could only get the words out. 

‘Skye will you do me the honour of marrying me?’ he asked, holding out a small black velvet box in his other hand. 

She was speechless and she turned a whiter shade of pale. 

Her mouth dropped open and her heart raced like an express train. Never had she envisaged this happening for real. Not that she hadn’t thought about it, imagined it a million times, hoped and wished and dreamt that it might, but never really believed that it would happen. No not ever. 

For a moment she couldn’t speak, her heart was pounding in her ears and she felt a little light headed. Surely she had imagined it. She would wake up and find that she had been dreaming it all, everything, from the moment they had first met in the lift to right now, right this minute. Yes, of course that was it. She was dreaming some beautiful dream. But then she looked down and into his eyes staring back at her, his beautiful face strained and full of anticipation, and yet wearing a faint glimpse of hope on it. 

He was holding his breath waiting, daring not to hope too much least his dreams become a night mare and she refuses him. That would be too cruel. He simply couldn’t even contemplate life without her now, he kept telling himself. It was not something that he would even let himself think about. She was his life, his heart and his soul. 

 

‘Oh my god Rolly,’ was all that she could get out. He flipped the top of the box open to reveal the most beautifully cut baguette diamond she had ever seen surrounded on both sides by three smaller ones shaped in a triangle of sorts and set in pale gold. It was exquisite. It was to die for. It was staggeringly beautiful and Skye had never seen anything like it. It was exquisite. 

He looked up at her, his eyes never leaving her face, drinking in every expression passing over it, at first so unsure of himself that he nearly panicked. His mouth went dry and his heart pounded. She stood looking down at him, searching his face for the truth in it and much to her relief, finding it written plainly all over his face. Her eyes welled up with tears, happy tears, tears of such heart felt joy that they sprang down her face and fell on his up turned face as she held out her left hand and extended her ring finger, her hand shaking. ‘You mean it, you really mean it?’ she whispered to him. Taking the ring from where it was resting in its box he nodded. ‘I have never meant anything more in my whole entire life but… are you sure, will you really marry me?’ 

‘Oh god Rolly, I would marry you right here, right now.’ He slid the ring onto her finger with trembling hands and smiled. ‘It fits, it fits perfectly,’ there were tears in his eyes as he said this. ‘I love you so much.’ Still kneeling, he wrapped his arms around her hugging his face into her body as she stood cradling his head against her while he silently sobbed with relief. ‘I never want to be apart from you,’ his voice was muffled, ‘I can’t even bear to think of it.’ ‘Rolly we will never be apart, never. I love you. I don’t think I could ever love anyone as much and in the same way as I love you.’ 

She dropped to her knees and he took her face in his hands. ‘I love you Skye.’ ‘I love you Rolly.’ Their lips met in the tenderest of kisses, falling into each other’s souls with a promise of all that was to come. They could have stayed like that for the rest of their lives had it not been that at that moment a voice came over the emergency speaker in the corner of the lift. ‘Is everything all right Mr Barker?’ it enquired, ‘it’s Harry on security and we have to be closing up for the night.’ ‘Dam,’ Rolly laughed as he stood up and helped Skye up too then reached over and pushed the intercom button. ‘Thanks Harry you can get things rolling again if you would.’ 

He turned to Skye to see the mystified and surprised look on her face and explained that he had arranged everything with security and Harry was in on it all, sworn to secrecy though, but had somehow managed to get it all set up at a prearranged time. When they got to the ground floor and reached the security desk Harry looked up and smiled. ‘Might I be the first one to congratulate you sir,’ he asked, ‘and madam? Hope that the operation went smoothly for you but judging by the smiles on your faces, am I to assume that all went as hoped?’ 

The pair stood there grinning and blushing like a couple of little kids. Thanking Harry for his good wishes and wishing him a Merry Christmas, Rolly assured him that that things went well and they made their way to the car park, getting in and driving to a Christmas Eve celebration at Skye’s home that was a tradition in her family. 

Every year they gathered the night before Christmas and a running feast of finger food in the lounge room with the Christmas tree lit, catching up with family, friends and neighbours that dropped by to spread good cheer and spend the night with a festive air to it was a tradition that had happened in her family for as long as she could remember and this year was no different. 

Skye loved it and wanted Rolly to experience it too and now, what was always a very special night for her, was made even more so with his proposal and their news. ‘You know that I am going to ask for your Dad’s permission don’t you?’ Rolly was saying as he drove through the streets passing houses with Christmas decorations and lights sparkling in the cold night air. This news took her by surprise as she hadn’t ever considered it ever happening to her let alone with Rolly. She didn’t know whether to laugh or be terrified for him. Her Dad could be quite a formidable figure when he set his mind to it. Mum was a different story though. She knew that she would be over the moon and she secretly thought that she had a bit of a crush on her soon to officially be fiancée.

Oh my stars she thought to herself, her fiancée. She said the word over and over in her mind. She had a fiancée. She was engaged to be married to Rolly. Without realising it she let out a little squeal. Rolly glanced at her as he negotiated a roundabout. ‘What on earth?’ he questioned. ‘We’re engaged,’ she beamed, her face glowing. He broke out into a peel of the musical laughter that she adored and grabbed her hand, raising it to his lips and kissed it. ‘I know,’ he laughed and let out a “Yahoo” that summed up how he was feeling. 

‘Is that why you dragged me around shopping then, luring me into the jewellers?’ she laughed. ‘Well.. yes and no, but sort of. I did want to get Sarah a ring but I also thought that it was the perfect way to find out what size you take. I had already designed the ring and approached a jeweller to get it made but I needed to know your size before they could finish making it in time.’ 

She stared at him astonished. ‘You designed my ring?’ He smiled a little embarrassed then a worried look creased his face. ‘You do like it don’t you? I mean it’s all right isn’t it?’ he asked her as he parked the car in front of her house and turned to look at her. She held out her hand and wiggled her finger, the ring catching the light from the street lamp making it sparkle. ‘Rolly I adore it. It is the most beautiful ring I have ever seen and I can’t believe that you would get something so ….’ She was lost for words and overcome with her feelings, her eyes moist and a tear trickled down her face. 

‘Heh, heh what’s this? Honey don’t, please don’t cry.’ He took her in his arms. ‘You don’t get it do you,’ she mumbled, ‘I don’t deserve it or you.’ ‘What, what are you talking about. Skye, look at me,’ he took her face in his hands so that she gazed at him. Even in the dim light of the car she could see his eyes blazing into hers. ‘You don’t get it do you? You don’t have a clue how beautiful and wonderful and amazing you are Skye. I can’t tell you how much in love with you I am. I love you so much it hurts,’ his face was contorted with passion as he said this. ‘Rolly that’s how I feel, you take my breath away every time you come near me, being with you is like living a dream come true.’ ‘You are my dream. If you only knew what my life was like before I met you… you have no idea how pathetic it was, how …’ ‘Tell me, tell me what it was like. I want to share everything with you and I want you to share everything with me. I want…’ his lips were on hers before she could go on, his arms around her drawing her into him and all else was forgotten.

‘I love you Skye,’ he murmured into her mouth, ‘that is all that matters.’


	56. Chapter 56

They were locked together inseparable for what seemed an eternity before reluctantly drawing apart. ‘Come on babe, we had better get in or they will be sending out a search party for us,’ Rolly laughed, ‘and there is the little matter of facing your Dad.’ His face clouded at the thought of it. ‘What if he doesn’t approve of me?’ Skye giggled, ‘Are you kidding, Dad loves you. You might not know it but he really does, he will make a bit of a show of considering your proposal but trust me he will approve and to hell with him if he doesn’t, you are not getting away from me and that’s all there is to it.’ 

‘You know you are adorable don’t you?’ he asked her as they reached her front door and he gathered her into his arms again, planting a kiss on her lips. She melted into his arms and they would have stood there for the rest of the night had Jen not opened the door at that moment only to interrupt them. ‘Ewww can’t you two ever keep your hands and everything else off each other for more than two minutes for pity’s sake?’

‘Jealous are you?’ Skye retorted still clinging to Rolly. Jen blushed red and looked at her then looked at Rolly. ‘Well yes, who wouldn’t be? How you got him I just don’t know. It beats me. Does he know that you snore?’ ‘I do not!’ ‘No she doesn’t,’ they both spoke at the same time, and then it was their turn to blush at the implication of spending the night in bed together. ‘Hah, I knew it, just what have you been up to,’ Jen laughed knowingly, much to their discomfort. ‘Look it’s perishing out here now let us in will you?’ 

And with that Skye took Rolly’s hand and gently pushed past her, Rolly in tow, copping a saucy wink from his future sister in law and chuckling. ‘Where’s Dad?’ Skye asked over her shoulder. ‘He’s out the back in the conservatory, why?’ Jen asked, her curiosity peaked. ‘None of your business that’s why,’ Skye retorted back leading him towards the back of the house to where she was hoping she’d find her Father.

They walked through the kitchen stopping at the doorway into what they laughingly referred to as her Father’s domain, the conservatory cum den that was set up resplendent with a bar, a cane couch and two chairs. ‘Good luck,’ she whispered to him, ‘and Rolly, don’t take any guff from him, he’s all hot air anyway.’ ‘I won’t. You are mine and nothing is going to come between us.’ He brushed her lips, ran a finger down her cheek and smiled then straightened himself up and walked into the lion’s den.

As Skye stood in the kitchen waiting her Mum came in from the direction of the living room where Skye realised there seemed to be a lot of noise emanating from. ‘Darling, I didn’t know you were here. What are you doing standing out here on your own and where is Rolly? I have been expecting the two of your for the last two hours.’ ‘Oh umm, he’s just talking to Dad,’ Skye replied rather shyly, ‘he err … wanted to talk to Dad about something.’ She was suddenly very nervous and brushed the hair out of her eyes. Her Mum gasped and rushed over to her, reaching for her hand. The glint of Skye’s engagement ring had sparkled out when it caught the light and Joan had seen it flashing. ‘Oh Skye, I am so happy for you. When, when did he propose? Not that I haven’t been expecting it. The minute I saw him I knew he was madly in love with you my darling. Is he in with Father now, asking for your hand in marriage no doubt? That boy is a wonder.’ 

‘You know I was only telling your Aunty Gene and Uncle Ewan all about him not ten minutes ago. I said to them how he had a house in …’ Skye interrupted, ‘Are Aunty Gene and Uncle Ewan here? When did they come down? Are they here for Christmas?’ She asked glad of a diversion, her nerves couldn’t stand Joan prattling on only adding to the buildup in her. She hadn’t realised before how tense she was. She was sure Dad would say yes but still, until Rolly joined them she was bit of mess.

She knew it was silly to think like this but she loved and respected her Father so much that his approval was important to her. As much as she liked to think of herself as a modern type of person, making her own decisions and living her life her own way, the endorsement of her relationship and marriage from both her parents did mean a lot to her, more than she had previously realised. 

In the meantime Rolly was getting what he could only describe as a touch of the third degree from her Father. ‘So lad,’ Jon was saying after getting him a drink and sitting him down, ‘what’s on your mind. I don’t suppose you have come to see me just to talk about West Ham’s losing streak then?’ He sat down opposite Rolly and sipped on his brew while quietly appraising the younger man sitting across from him. He had never really had much to do with the corporate world or men of Rolly’s caliber, what he normally termed to himself as “toffs” but for all Rolly’s education and social status he thought of him with high regard, not being stuck up or putting on airs and graces as it were. He seemed to have his head screwed on right and he was sure that he was definitely smitten with our Skye he was thinking as he gazed at him. 

She could do far worse for herself, like that no good tosser Rod. He turned out to be a bad ‘un and he was rather relieved that she had gotten away from him. He’d never amount to anything much and when he thought of what may have lain ahead in life with a bloke like him, he gave a shudder, struggle to make ends meet, a couple of kids with not much future and living in a two up two down no doubt. Money would always be tight too and Skye would have to work for the rest of her life just to survive. No, it had been a narrow escape getting shaft of him. 

Rolly on the other hand was a totally different kettle of fish and not just because of his position or money or education either, he mused. You could just tell by taking one look at him that he would be successful at whatever he put his mind to. He carried himself well and with a certain quiet dignity. He had good manners and was always polite and obliging. Respectful of his elders too, he went on thinking, and from a good family too, not that Skye had ever talked much about his family. He did think that a little odd but then he supposed that these days having a close knit family was more out of the norm than his own little brood of contentment.

No, all in all Skye could have done much worse than Rolly he thought as went on sipping on his pint of bitter but still, it was his girl Skye he was talking about and he wasn’t going to let her go without making sure that she was going to be taken care of, and if that meant making this young man squirm then so be it so, clearing his throat he barked out, ‘Well Rolly just what are your intentions towards my daughter?’ 

The sudden question breaking the silence in the room startled Rolly’s stretched nerves and made him jump, nearly but not quite spilling his drink. ‘Sir I…’ ‘Well come on spit it out, you know that Skye is precious to me and I won’t have her getting hurt by anyone so just what have you got to say for yourself?’ In his nervous state Rolly failed to see the tiniest of creases at the corner of Jon’s lips, lord this is harder than I anticipated he thought to himself. ‘Well Sir, I have no intentions of ever hurting Skye and for that matter I couldn’t agree more, she is very precious to me too so you see,’ he took a hefty mouthful of his drink and cleared his throat, ‘I want your permission to marry her.’

If the older man was surprised by the fortitude of Rolly’s reply he didn’t show it. Really it was to be expected that a man like Rolly would give as good back and enforced his good opinion of him. ‘So, you think that you can support her in the manner that she is accustomed to do you?’ he remarked seriously. Rolly jumped in, ‘Yes, I will do anything and everything to give Skye the kind of life she deserves. She is everything to me and I will make sure that she never wants for anything Sir.’ ‘Well then, there’s nothing else for it is there. Congratulations son,’ he stood up and reached out his hand to shake with Rolly and grinned, ‘I couldn’t ask for a finer son in law now could I?’ Rolly stood too. ‘Thank you Sir, I promise I won’t let you or Skye down.’ 

Jon slapped him on the back. ‘Best get out to your girl then and I’ll go tell Mother too. I am betting the two of them are almost dying of anticipation. Now then drink up and let’s put them out of their misery lad. Cheers,’ he saluted. 

‘Cheers!’


	57. Chapter 57

Christmas Eve and Christmas day had flown by in a proliferation congratulations, relatives, food, drink, presents and laughter. If Roland thought that he met a lot of Skye’s relatives on Christmas Eve he was sadly mistaken as Christmas Day was even more jam packed with her family. There seemed to be dozens of them and they came from all over the country and as far away as a small Scottish Island off the west coast, Wales and then there were the Devon and Essex branches as well as those from up north. Rolly’s head was spinning trying to remember everyone’s names. And of course they all wanted to meet him after it was proudly announced by her Mum and Dad that they were engaged. 

There was Uncle Malcom and Aunty Linda from up north that Skye was very close to along with her cousins Sarah and Jess and then there was Uncle Andrew and Aunty Jean from the Isle of Butte along with their twins – Jamie with his flaming red hair and Cait with her dark hair and their broad almost unfathomable accents. They were on her Mother’s side of the family. There was the Welsh side from her Father’s line and their accents had that soft rolling lilt to them that made him think of rolling green hills and high peaks and ruined castles. Rolly did his best to make sure he greeted everyone and answered the multitude of questions they had for him. 

Anyone else may have felt like they were in the Spanish Inquisition with all the questions and probing he was under but he could see it for what it was. They all loved Skye so very much they didn’t want her to get hooked up with someone that wasn’t worthy of her. It was touching really. She was so very lucky having such a caring and concerned family. 

It went without saying that both Paul and Jen were over the moon when they heard the news. ‘Welcome to the family,’ Paul held out his hand to shake Rolly’s who was grinning from ear to ear, ‘just do right by my little sis or you will have me to answer for it,’ he laughed. ‘Don’t worry mate I will.’ Jen sidled up to him smiling. ‘So you are going to be my brother in law, I think that deserves a kiss doesn’t it,’ she was smirking. Rolly looked over to where Skye was standing with Uncle Stephen and gave her a look as much to say “help.” ‘Excuse me for a moment won’t you,’ she said and rushed to his side. ‘You are a spoil sport,’ Jen objected laughing. ‘And you are a flirt. Go find your own hunk to kiss,’ Skye laughed and wrapped her arms around him protectively. ‘You don’t have a twin brother do you Rolly or a clone? A girl can only try,’ she laughed again and sighed at the thought of a clone, ‘now wouldn’t that be something, cloned Rolly. I should patent that, I would make a fortune. Seriously, congrats Sis, I am so jealous!’ 

When they had finally left to go home it was going on for after one o’clock and they were both thoroughly exhausted after the long and exciting day they had. They fell into each other’s arms when they got to bed and were both asleep in minutes, clinging to each other as only those truly in love can. Their happiness was unbearable it was so intense. 

‘Merry Christmas, my darling.’ ‘Merry Christmas babes,’ Skye replied running her hands through the soft fur on Rolly’s chest as they lay in bed the next morning. ‘I love you the future Mrs Skye Barker.’ ‘I love you too future husband.’ She grinned up at him as she lay in his arms. ‘I have a present for you but I haven’t wrapped it,’ he smirked taking her hand and moving it down his body. ‘Oh my, it’s such a big present,’ she purred, ‘you do spoil me don’t you?’ ‘Yes always,’ he murmured into her mouth as his lips met hers and he rolled her onto her back. 

‘Would you like me to give you your present now or should I wait?’ ‘Oh but Santa, I have been a very good girl and I really think that I deserve to have my present right now,’ she teased, reaching her hand out and guiding him into her. ‘Oh yes, I think that Santa agrees one hundred percent, you have been a very good girl and you deserve everything that Santa is going to give to you, and Santa is going to get so much pleasure giving it to you too.’

It was just going on eight in the morning when they tore themselves away from the pleasures of love making only to lay luxuriating peacefully in each other embrace after what had turned out to be a belting night. As soon as Rolly had reappeared from his meeting with her Father, the look on his face a grin from ear to ear, it had been enough for Skye to go running into his arms in a state of sublime happiness. Her Dad too was grinning, something he didn’t do too often but it left a marked impression when he did. 

‘I never knew I could be so happy,’ he murmured into her ear as he brushed her delicate pink lobe. ‘I don’t think that I ever could picture myself as complete as I am now. You know you complete me don’t you?’ he asked her suddenly, fear tearing through him at the thought of what his life without her would be like. He sat up a little and lent on his elbow as he looked down into her face drinking in every pore of her skin while he waited holding his breath for her answer. 

‘Not even when I was a kid did I ever dare to think that I would find this kind of love. It’s like nothing else exists except us,’ she said thoughtfully, ‘I never dared to dream that someone like you even existed let alone would even look at me let alone love me, love me enough to marry me. Rolly I can’t wait to be your wife. I can’t wait to …’ she hesitated, ‘I just can’t wait.’ He smiled. ‘I can’t wait either.’

They had taken a long leisurely shower, had breakfast and then made their way back to her parent’s house to spend the day there with the family. The ritual of handing out the presents around the tree when they arrived had been a great success with all the gifts they had chosen for each family member being more than welcomed for their thoughtfulness and generosity, particularly Skye’s parents when they opened the enormous box that had been delivered gift wrapped earlier in the week only to find an enormous LED flat screen television with internet access and 3D capability. The look on their faces was priceless and even her mum was rendered speechless for a full five minutes at the sight of it. 

After a lunch and dinner, with all the family contributing to the meal they had all sat around talking, joking, pulling crackers with the obligatory paper hats and corny jokes being read and they had sung Christmas carols in front of the fire with the lights dimmed to take full advantage of the many twinkling coloured lights of the Christmas tree until late into the night, Skye and Rolly leaving to a chorus of good nights, Merry Christmas and best wishes sometime after midnight. 

‘Tired?’ he asked her as they drove home through the frosty darkened streets, passing gaily lit Christmas trees in house windows and merry makers saying their goodbyes before they too wound their own way home. ‘Uh huh,’ she replied sleepily, stretching out in the front seat of the car luxuriating in the warmth of the heater, ‘but so happy,’ she smiled fingering her engagement ring. ‘Do you feel up for a bit of drive?’ he asked. ‘Go for a drive, what now?’ she questioned surprised, ‘where to?’ ‘Well, how about you just wait and see,’ he replied mysteriously, chuckling to himself. ‘Okay Mr Mysterious but aren’t you tired?’ ‘Not a bit.’ 

The traffic was light and they cleared the city with no hold ups and were travelling along the M4 in no time. ‘Rolly, umm exactly where are we going?’ she asked as she watched the country side speeding by. ‘I told you Miss sticky beak just wait and see. I have everything under control. Don’t stress, just relax.’ ‘Well all right if you say so, I can see I am not going to be getting anything out of you so I might as well.’ ‘Good girl.’ He took her hand and raised it to her lips without taking his eyes off the road and kissed it. ‘Try to get some sleep if you are tired, I’ll wake you when we get there.’ 

She opened her mouth to say something but then changed her mind. She knew better than to ask just how far they were going because he obviously wasn’t going to be forth coming with any information so she gave up and relaxed back into her seat. The heater was on at a comfortable level and the soft music of their favourite songs lulled her into a comfortable place, the smooth ride of his car gently cradled her and before she knew it she had fallen asleep. 

It seemed only moments later that she woke noticing that the car had stopped. Fuzzy with sleep she looked around to find the car empty, door slightly ajar. Sitting up in a bit of a panic she was relieved to see Rolly in the car headlights shining through the windscreen to where he was opening two large ornate wrought iron gates set between two high stone pillars in a high stone fence. In the gloom that was all she could make out. She had no idea where she was and it was not until she glanced at the illuminated clock on the dashboard that she realised she had been asleep for some hours. 

It only took a moment for him to push the gates open then return to the car. ‘Where are we?’ she asked him. ‘Hello sleepy head. Did you have a good sleep babes?’ he asked leaning over and kissing her with lips that were cold from the frosty night air. ‘We’re nearly there now so you will see soon enough or well, you will have to wait for day light to really see but you know what I mean,’ he answered as he manoeuvred through the gates, stopping to get out and close them then slowly continuing down the dark wooded drive before taking a smaller rougher track off to the left. 

It was dark and had turned cloudy, the moon disappearing into the thick clouds that flitted across the silvery light from time to time giving everything a surreal appearance. Never the less Skye was now wide awake and full of curiosity regarding her surrounds, looking from one side to the other of the car and down the track for a hint of any features but discovering nothing to give her a clue on their destination. As they turned off the drive though she had glanced to his side of the car and thought that she could make out a dimly lit shape of a building but as luck would have it the moon had gone behind a cloud right at that moment and so she wasn’t sure if she had actually seen something or if she just hadn’t imagined it. 

It was that kind of place and that kind of night she thought to herself, the drive and the track through the thick dark wood conjuring up all kinds of fanciful images of haunted mansions and such. Then just as she was musing about lurking killers in the woods and headless horsemen, the wood suddenly came to an abrupt end and she found they were out on a grassy area with a panoramic view of the horizon and it was stunning. 

‘We’re here,’ Rolly exclaimed but where was here, she wondered.


	58. Chapter 58

In front of them the view stretched out across the darkened horizon as far as the eye could see. Despite the time of the night and the flitting clouds, in the moments of moonlight peeping out from behind its hiding place Skye could see the outline of the forest to her left and right from which they had emerged. It circled around them and faded off into the distance leaving a wobbly semi-circle shape of grassland that spread out before them dwindling down to an abrupt halt directly in front at the edge of a high cliff. 

Near the edge of the cliff a slate roofed white washed cottage stood like some testament to another place in time, its dormer windows thickly pained with mullioned ancient glass, its ancient chimneys thickly lined with the soot of olden cooking fires. It was quaint but more than that, it was welcoming and totally adorable. 

To the right of the building stood a small barn like structure that Rolly drove towards having a new purpose, that of housing a car rather than that of former times when the horse was king of the highway. To the left she could see a thin white line that appeared to be a path winding away downwards along the cliff edge as it diminished in height to what appeared to be a sandy cove at the bottom. 

Once again he stopped the car this time so he could unlock the doors to the barn then drove in, turned off the engine, sighed and stretched. ‘Come on, I’ll grab the bags and show you around.’ ‘The bags?’ ‘You didn’t think that I hadn’t packed a few things did you? We are going to be here a couple of days so I threw a few things that I thought we might need into a couple of bags while you were on the phone to your mum the other night,’ he told her. ‘You amaze me,’ she laughed. He cocked an eyebrow at her and cheekily quipped, ‘Not yet but I intend to very soon,’ planting a wet kiss on her lips. ‘Now come on, it’s going to get cold sitting out here and I want to get the fire lit to warm the place up.’ 

Grabbing the bags from the boot of the car he led the way to the front of the house and let them in. They both stood blinking in the light after he flicked the switch on in the large downstairs room that to Skye’s eyes seemed to run across the width of the house. It took a couple of moments for their eyes to adjust to the light after being in darkness for so many hours but once they had he made his way over to the left of the room where there were comfy couches pulled up to an enormous stone fireplace. 

‘I’ll just light this one so that it will get started and if you can keep an eye on it I will run upstairs and light the one in the bedroom,’ he commented as he bent down to the already set papers and kindling. ‘Won’t be a moment,’ and he was gone, bounding up the stairs in a flash. She could hear him wander around on the creaky floorboards above her head and in between poking and the flaming pile on the hearth and warming her hands, she glanced around the room. 

In the daylight the room would be bright and cheerful with windows letting the sunshine stream in but right now with the curtains drawn it looked warm and cosy with its old world charm and gaily patterned chintz covered furniture. It was the kind of room that would make the perfect setting for an episode of an Agatha Christie Miss Marple book she decided, that kind of idyllic cottage smelling of wood smoke, beeswax furniture polish and lavender. It was quaint and homely and she wondered who it belonged to and who had lived there before. That it was old and had history was beyond doubt, the aged oak rafters above her head gave testament to that fact but just how old she hesitated to guess. She fell in love with it immediately and couldn’t wait to explore all its nooks and crannies. 

He came bouncing down the stairs and hurried over to her waiting arms. ‘Right that’s done,’ he told her, ‘it won’t take long to warm the room up and I have left the fire guard safely up so it won’t be a problem. You have to be careful with these old places,’ he warned her. ‘Now how about a cup of cocoa then we can hit the sack?’ ‘Cocoa?’ ‘Yes, I always have cocoa when I am down here, it’s kind of a tradition and takes me back to when I was a kid.’ He looked like a kid right now she thought, his eyes sparkling with excitement in the firelight. ‘You know what, cocoa sounds lovely.’ 

She followed him through a large door opposite the front door and came into the kitchen. It was enormous, stretching three quarters of the width of the house and was just as one would imagine a country kitchen to look. Immediately in front of her was an enormous fireplace which in olden times would have been big enough to roast a small lamb in but now housed a range that was more practical to modern cooking.

Wooden bench tops worn with age ran along the wall and to the left, in front of a large window with a view overlooking the direction of the cove there was a butler’s sink. There were two large dressers housing willow patterned crockery of all descriptions, a large oak table that would seat eight and a comfy looking couch too. Stone flags and yet more oak beams finished off the scene. It was homely, practical old world charm and very obviously the heart of the house. 

To the right of the room was a door leading into a large pantry that doubled as a storage and utility room. Lined with shelves that held all kinds of bits and pieces, cooking pots looking that old that Skye thought they belonged in a museum – well some of them, jars and tins of assorted pickled vegetables, hams, soup and beans, in fact there was enough food there to last them days should they need to. 

Against the end wall were yet more shelves that housed all the other kind of things needed to whoever owned the house. Fishing rods, a tackle box, umbrellas, in fact all the bits and pieces that you would find in any general storage area within a modern home were all there and in good condition. The only real acknowledgement to modern living was a small shower room and loo in a partitioned off area of the utility room which both of them used to their relief after the long journey. 

 

He fished through one of the bags and produced some long life cartons of milk to make the drinks with, explaining that they would go into the village in the morning and get in fresh supplies. They carried their coca back to the living room and sat sipping the hot drinks sitting in front of the fireplace staring into the flames while enjoying the quiet time, the only sounds disturbing the peace was the distant rumbling of the breakers on to the rocks below the cliffs. 

‘Who’s place is this?’ she asked turning a little as they sat next to each other, their comfortably bodies leaning against each other as they stretched out on the floor leaning against the couch. ‘It belonged to my granddad on my dad’s side of the family. I used to come here as a kid for Easter holidays some times,’ he smiled. ‘I loved it here. Sarah and I used to pretend we were on an adventure and part of the Famous Five, you know those kids books? Did you ever read them?’ She laughed. ‘Hell yes, I always wanted to be George, she was my hero. I always wanted a dog just like Timmy.’ He laughed. ‘Mine too and me too,’ he replied suppressing a yawn that was contagious. 

‘Come on, time for bed. It’s been a long day. I’ll just put up the fire guard and lock up.’ The fire in the bedroom had taken the chill off the room when they went up and begun undressing. He had turned off the light; the flames from the fire light gave off a soft glow to the room. Skye was enchanted by the room; it was like stepping back into Elizabethan times with its oak beams and funny odd shaped wall with its nooks and crannies. The large heavily carved old bed beckoned them. She yawned again and that set them both off as they climbed under the covers and embraced. 

‘Are you warm enough?’ he asked her as they snuggled up tightly to each other. ‘Mmm,’ she purred, ‘Are you?’ He pulled her tighter into him, rubbing his body against hers. ‘Yes, in fact I am getting quite hot,’ his husky voice sending shivers of anticipation through her as his hands ran down her back and squeezed her buttocks. ‘God you have such a lovely arse,’ he murmured, surprising the hell out of her. 

Shocked because he’d never said anything like that to her before she responded, ‘So do you,’ giving his buttocks a hard grasp with her hands before blurting out, ‘and I love your…’ but she stopped herself. ‘You love my what?’ he asked eagerly. ‘I love your…’ but she couldn’t go on. She was too embarrassed. ‘Oh come that’s not fair, you love my what?’ ‘No Rolly I am too embarrassed.’ ‘Heh you don’t have to be embarrassed with me. We are going to be married don’t forget. I am going to be your husband so I demand to know,’ curiosity was burning him up now and he was dying to know what it was that she liked so much that she was too embarrassed to say. ‘Come on spit it out will you?’ ‘Oh okay, I love your wedding tackle.’ 

She was glad the room was dark so that he couldn’t see her face flaming with embarrassment. ‘My what?’ he nearly chocked. ‘This!’ She ran her hands down his body till she took hold of his erection with one hand and his sack with the other, groaning slightly as she felt how hard he was. He sucked in his breath at her touch. ‘All for you my love and only for you,’ he rasped as his body gave an involuntary jerk all of its own. ‘Rolly I know that you are tired, there’s always the morning,’ she said considerately. ‘Babes I might be tired but that’s sure not going to stop me in fact, I suddenly I am really not tired at all.’ 

And with that he rolled her over onto her back and proved how wide awake he was.


	59. Chapter 59

Bright sunshine streamed through the paned windows making diamond patterns all over the old Persian rugs scattered around the floor. Skye opened her eyes and for a moment had no idea where she was and why she was staring at old wooden beams above her. For a moment she thought that she was still dreaming but then she felt Rolly’s movements as he too stirred. ‘Good morning my soon to be wife, how are you?’ He bent his head down and kissed her a long lingering kiss that went on and on before breaking away. ‘Happy Boxing day my love,’ he smiled sweetly at her, ‘how about some breakfast I am starving?’ 

She stretched lazily and smiled back at him. ‘What time is it?’ ‘Don’t know and don’t care. While we are here let’s not bother about time, let’s just go with the flow and do whatever we want, when we want? How about it? No phones, internet, other’s to worry about, just us. How does that sound?’ She sighed. ‘Sounds absolutely, totally perfect to me.’ ‘Okay so to answer my first question, how about some breakfast?’ ‘Can’t wait, I’m starving too. I was going to have a shower first if there is any hot water?’ ‘Breakfast first, shower later agreed?’ ‘Okay,’ she nodded knowing he must be really hungry if he was passing up a shower. ‘Good, then come on.’ 

She noticed that the blinds were drawn open and their bags unpacked as she got dressed. ‘Oh that,’ he answered before she questioned him. ‘I was up earlier and as you were fast asleep I didn’t want to disturb you so I just pottered around then came back to bed. Country and sea air does have that effect on me. Gets me up early that is.’ She giggled. ‘That’s not the only effect it has on you.’ Her eyes scanned down his body resting on what she had so euphemistically termed as his wedding tackle the night before. He flushed a little and cupped himself hiding his semi erection. ‘Oh that,’ he shrugged, ‘that’s not just the sea air, it’s you. Just watching you dress is enough to get me going.’

Her mouthed formed an O shape at his last remark. ‘Keep standing there looking like that and I am going to have to do something about this,’ he remarked looking down at the more than prominent bulge he could no longer now hide. ‘Oh no you don’t! You mentioned breakfast and now I am really starving besides,’ she laughed, ‘there’s always later. I’ll race you down stairs.’ She threw on her jeans and thick woolly jumper that he had left unpacked on a rather ancient looking chest at the foot of the bed and ran past him giggling as he lunged at her. 

Following closely behind her they rushed into the kitchen laughing where he caught up with her and gave her a bear hug. ‘Love you Skye,’ he planted a kiss on her mouth. ‘Love you too Rolly,’ she hugged him hard. ‘Now what have we got to eat?’ she asked, ‘I suppose we can have some of the tinned stuff in the pantry?’ ‘No need,’ he replied walking past her and into the larder then returning with the most enormously large wicker basket that she had ever seen. ‘How about some farm fresh eggs, gammon and freshly baked bread, would that do?’ ‘Now where on earth did you get that?’ ‘Oh I have my ways,’ he laughed. 

‘You see there was this local girl walking past and I seduced her into giving me this…’ Skye poked him in the ribs. ‘Very funny mister, seriously where did you get all that?’ she asked as she unpacked the basket full of fresh farm produce that included a multitude of goodies. ‘This looks absolutely fabulous. Look there’s homemade raspberry jam, freshly churned butter, cheese, god Rolly I feel like I have just been let lose in one of those weekend farmer’s markets,’ she grinned, ‘what’s this?’ She picked up a bottle with a stopper top on it and prized it open and sniffed. ‘Oh is that home-made lemonade cordial?’ 

He laughed as he helped her unpack the perishables, a large portion of Virginia ham, a smoked chicken and a large lidded jar of pea and ham soup looking deliciously tempting, before putting them into the refrigerator. ‘Okay I confess, I rang up and arranged this days ago. I didn’t want to have to go traipsing around to the village on Boxing day when we had only just arrived. I tried to pick things that I knew you liked as well as some of my own favourites from when I was a kid,’ he blushed a little, ‘like the lemonade. I thought that we could go for a bit of a ramble so I could show you around and maybe take a picnic if the weather was good enough, like I used to do with Sarah when we were on hols. Mother used to send us off for the day with packed lunches and drink. It really was like something out of kid’s book, well at least we pretended it was.’

‘Sounds wonderful, bet you got up to all kinds of mischief.’ ‘Who moi?’ he asked innocently before laughing. ‘Well, no not really.’ His face clouded over. ‘But we sure would have liked to. I’ll do the cooking you set the table,’ he suddenly changed the conversation and got busy with heating the fry pan and showing her where things were kept, ‘I thought seeing it’s such a beautiful morning we could eat out on the terrace. There is a pretty cool view out there that I think you will like and it’s nice and sunny.’ 

They sat outside in the warm sunshine listening to the waves breaking on the rocks below them. When he had said that there was a pretty cool view Skye found it was a major understatement. The view was stunning. In the daylight she could see that she was right about a path going off to the left of the house and now she could see the cove that it lead down to. There was a sandy beach that looked inviting and where the beach ended on the far side she could make out what seemed to be caves in the cliffs that bordered it. She smiled to herself picturing him as a child exploring and playing hide and seek with Sarah and dreaming of pirates or smugglers or whatever it was that kids did. It looked terribly pretty and she couldn’t wait to get a closer look at it. 

She noticed to the right of the terrace there was another path. This one lead along the cliff top towards the forest they had come through. She thought that she could make out a further path that branched off and continued on down over the cliff edge and she assumed there must be another cove or at least access to something else. She couldn’t wait to see where that one led either. Her blue eyes danced with excitement at the thought of going on a ramble with Rolly showing her all the sights. 

‘What do you say if I do the dishes and put some food together while you make the bed then we can be off on that picnic I promised you?’ ‘Sounds like a cunning plan to me but I’ll help you with the dishes and we can both make something to take with us. I don’t want you doing everything you are spoiling me too much.’ ‘Never!’ he grinned at her before saying, ‘I want you to have a holiday even if it is only for a few days. You have been working so hard and deserve it Skye. You must be so tired.’

It only took a short while to get everything done and then they were off walking hand in hand along the path leading to the cove to the left side of the house, Rolly carrying a back pack that she thought look remarkably full considering they were only going to be going for a few hours really and seeing the cottage wasn’t all that far if they needed anything terribly important all they had to do was walk back. 

‘It’s so beautiful here,’ she remarked when they reached the white sandy beach and she looked around, ‘I can quite understand why you loved it here as a kid. It’s perfect for mucking around. Is that some kind of lagoon over there?’ she asked turning to look towards the rear of the beach, ‘and are those caves over there?’ She was pointing to the base of the cliff on the far side of the beach, opposite the path they had just walked down. ‘Come on I’ll show you.’

He put the back pack down on the sand and took her hand, leading her over to the rocky outcrop at the bottom of the cliff and helped her to climb up some fifteen or so feet until they were standing at the entrance of a cave. Reaching into his jeans pocket he pulled out a small torch and smiled. ‘I came prepared,’ then he lead her into the entrance, ‘it’s quite dry and it’s pretty safe in here. We are above the high tide mark and only in really bad storms does the sea come in. We get very bad storms here at times,’ he said quietly ‘but not that often so don’t worry, it’s a beautiful day and there’s no chance of getting caught in here today.’ 

The cave mouth was quite wide but the further back they walked the narrower it became until finally it petered out into a blank wall. ‘Sarah and I used to come in here and play smugglers and pirates and dig for buried treasure when we were kids. We were actually quite chuffed one year on our Easter hols when we found a tin in here… just up here,’ he reached up to a ledge and felt around, ‘see here it is.’ 

He lifted it down and looked nostalgically at it. It was an old enamelled tin with a hinged lid, the kind that was used years ago as part of a picnic set to store sandwiches and such. ‘You can’t imagine how thrilled we were when we found it. We made quite a ceremony of opening it. I think we were expecting it to be filled with doubloons at least if not jewels or some such nonsense,’ he laughed. ‘Well don’t keep me in suspense what was in it?’ ‘Two of those small paper packets of sugar, a packet of salt and some screwed up wax paper left over from sandwiches. Very disappointing I can tell you. But that didn’t deter us. We made a pact that if we ever came here by ourselves whoever came would leave something for the other one to find. All quite silly really.’

‘Well aren’t you going to open it and see what’s in there?’ Skye asked, ‘when was the last time you came here?’ He shrugged. ‘It’s been years since I was last here.’ ‘Well then aren’t you curious?’ Now that it came down to it she thought that for some reason he was reluctant to open the tin and wondered why. ‘Here give it to me,’ she took the tin from his hands before he could protest and opened the lid to reveal a rather faded looking envelope. Curiosity getting the better of her she opened it and took out a photo of three teenagers, two girls and a boy, all looking very summery in bathers and pulling ridiculous faces. 

She laughed as she recognised Sarah and Rolly but had no idea who the other girl was. ‘Who is this?’ she asked handing him the image. He looked at the picture and was taken aback. He didn’t answer her immediately but seemed to be lost in a world of emotion. ‘Rolly who is that?’ she asked him again. ‘That’s Sandy my cousin,’ he said, hurriedly placing the photo back in the envelope, closing the lid of the tin and putting it back on the shelf. ‘Sarah must have been here at some time and left this. I .. it’s been quite a while since I have come here.’ He frowned and looked a million miles away again but if Skye noticed she didn’t let on and she knew better than to press him. It got her nowhere. If he wanted to open up to her he would, if not then it was just one of those small snippets of his past that he kept locked away from her.

‘She’s very pretty. I didn’t know you have a cousin. You have never mentioned her. What does she do? It looks like you were all having so much fun on Summer holidays was it?’ she asked as casually as she could, not wanting to push him too far and break the good mood they were both feeling since arriving at the cottage. ‘Yeh something like that,’ he shivered a little, ‘come on, it’s cold in here how about we go sit on the beach and grab some sun? Race you!’

And that was that she thought to herself. The key had turned firmly to the lock on the door to his past and she was not sure if it would ever be opened.


	60. Chapter 60

The day was turning out to be unexpectedly warm, so warm that they took off their shoes and socks at Rolly’s insistence and paddled around at the wave’s edge. The sea was calm and the tiny waves broke gently on the sand in a frill of white froth like a lacy edge over their bare feet. They held hands and ran along the shoreline like a couple of kids threatening to splash each other at times, digging their toes into the powdery sand and feeling for shells with their bare feet at others. After a couple of hours or so of mucking about Rolly spread out a rug he had bought with him in his back pack and dug out a thermos flask he had filled with coffee, pouring some and handing it to her. He then laid out the sandwiches, a small cold smoked chicken, a tub of potato salad and a jar of relish. 

‘This is really heaven,’ Skye smiled at him when they had finished as they sat looking out to sea, ‘I can imagine how warm the water must be in summer. Is it safe for swimming?’ ‘Yes, it’s quite protected here on this beach by the two small headlands so it doesn’t cop the pounding of the storms like other parts. It’s only along the part of the shore by the caves and further up towards the cottage that can be dangerous. You have to have local knowledge or be a fool to not take the sea around here seriously,’ he said quietly, the last muttered under his breath to himself. 

She looked at him as he said that and at that moment the sun had gone behind one of the few clouds in the otherwise perfectly clear sky. He was gazing out to the horizon and his eyes seemed to have darkened to a slate blue but then the sun peeped out once again and the crystal clear merry brightness returned. 

‘Are you up to some more exploring?’ he asked jumping up suddenly and holding out his hand to help her. ‘Sure, you know I would go anywhere with you don’t you?’ she responded. Suddenly he grabbed her and pulled her into him, staring into her eyes with an almost pained expression. ‘I never want to lose you Skye.’ He brushed her cheek softly with his finger then held her cheek in the palm of her hand. ‘Rolly you never will.’ ‘Do you promise me?’ ‘Of course I promise. I am yours heart and soul.’ ‘Good,’ he nodded then bent down and quickly packed the remnants of lunch into the back pack, rolled up the rug and threw it over his shoulders and took her hand. ‘I have something to show you.’ ‘Great I can’t wait,’ she smiled and they began heading towards the back of the cove. 

As they got closer Skye realised there was a pool of water cut off from the sea by the layer of sand that the westerly wind that blew into the cove had built up. The water in the pool was still and clear and seemed to have its source springing from a small creek that she could just make out as they got closer to it. The stream emerged into the pool from between two huge boulders that edged it on each side and to the left she noticed a small kind of track that lead upwards through the trees that were growing in the protection of the cliffs at that part of the beach. 

She looked down into the pool as they drew up to it and was mesmerized by the crystal clear water but she didn’t really have time to take it in as he began leading her along the narrow edge and she had to mind her footing. They walked for some little time, the trees becoming thicker and more densely packed together as if huddling closer to one another for protection from the coastal winds. Or perhaps they were merely seeking the fresh water of the creek as opposed to the salty sea water and wind, either way she found the place to be breath taking, like a truly enchanted forest, perfect in its proportions and magical, the sound of the sea in the back ground a perfect accompaniment to a whimsical captivating piece of nature at its best. But when they rounded a bend in the path, that was when she truly had her breath taken away for before her was yet another pool with a small waterfall splashing noisily out of the rocky wall in front of them. 

It was beautiful. Exquisitely enticing and truly a place of surreal proportions, she stood gazing around her taking in the whole scene. She had been wowed by the waterfall he had taken her to up north on the way to visiting his Grans place but this was different. It had none of the grand spectacular height to it of the other, this was more intimate somehow, more secluded and hidden away. Noticing a slight mist rising from the surface of the stilled pool she bent down and felt the water then turned to him as he stood watching the astonishment on her face. ‘It’s warm,’ she whispered not wanting to break the stillness. 

He nodded smiling. He could see that she was as taken by the place as he was and he was so glad. He had wanted to bring her here for so long, imagining she would appreciate the beauty of it as much as he did. ‘It’s beautiful,’ she said softly, ‘like something out of a forgotten time hidden away from the world with centuries passing it by, leaving it untouched and unsullied by the modern world.’ 

He put the backpack and rug down and stepped over to her. ‘You love it as much as I do, I can tell. It has that effect on me too. There is something about this place that is like stepping into another dimension. Nothing else exists, not the outside world, nor anything in it, it’s like stepping back to the beginning of time and we are the only ones in the whole world. It’s beautiful and unspoiled and how things should be. You can’t help but feel at one with it and want to be part of it, to fit in with it,’ he whispered softly as he began to slide his hands under her jumper and ease it upwards as she lifted her arms up so he could shed it more easily. 

Their eyes were locked on to each other as they shed their clothes and stepped into the pool, the warmth of the water caressing their skin, the sandy bottom caressing their feet as the waded in until several feet from the edge the sand dropped away and the water engulfed their bodies, rolling over their skin in small swirling motions like gentle fingers eddying around them. 

Reaching out for each other their bodies met. In the surrounds they were in you could be forgiven for thinking, should a stranger come across the scene, of the first garden in time if you were of that belief, and the first time a man and a woman had opened themselves to the splendour of tenderness they felt right at that given moment. The unadulterated sheer pleasure of feeling another’s body pressed closely against them. The curves of her body melting into his hard stomach muscles, the softness of his thick thatch of fur running from his chest down his body over his trim stomach muscles then ending in that forbidden fruit she felt swelling against her flat belly and his round and full orbs of delight pushing against her as his hands slid down to cup her buttocks firmly and pull her into him ever so persuasively. 

She needed no persuasion though; his body against her, his hips against her hips, his dense thatch and ever growing mound of need were more than enough to set her on fire with need for him. When his lips brushed hers with the lightest of touches she whimpered with desire in his arms. ‘I want to make love to you,’ his velvet voice whispered to her echoing in her mind in the stillness of the air. ‘I want you to make love to me. I want you to take me. I want you,’ she breathed into his mouth as his tongue glided into her hot sweetness and their tongues met in an explosion of passionate tenderness enough to break their respective hearts. 

‘I want you, I want to bury myself in you,’ he gently urged lifting her off her feet, her legs wrapping around his hips and throwing her arms around his neck. With one hand supporting her, he felt for himself with the other and in one swift movement found her as he waded into shallower water and softly laid her down still joined in their blessed union, the warm shallower water covering them in its soft blanket. With each thrust of his body they withdrew into a deeper and deeper desire for each other until the need in them could no longer be held at bay, shattering their souls into splinters of the ultimate of shimmering spinning dazzling diamonds of pleasure. 

‘I love you,’ he said simply and honestly as they lay their still connected by their heaving bodies, so shattering had been their orgasms that neither had the physical strength to move nor the emotional want to break their union. ‘I love you more than life Skye. I love you so much it hurts like a physical pain.’ She lay looking up into his eyes and a tear trickled down the side of her face. ‘I know. It hurts to even think of how much I love you.’

‘Sometimes…’ she swallowed, ‘sometimes it hurts so much I think I can’t bear it.’


	61. Chapter 61

‘I feel that too, I feel like I can’t stand a minute of life without you near me. Fuck,’ he gave an embarrassed laugh, ‘I can’t even stand it when you go to the loo.’ She laughed. ‘Me too.’ ‘We are a right pair aren’t we?’ he laughed again, the seriousness of their moods lifting and he rolled off her onto his back and lay looking up at the blue sky and the sun shining down through the dappled leaves. She rolled onto her side and began to play with the soft down on his chest, watching how the water playing over it with the sunlight shining upon it turned it into a mat of burnished copper as she ran her fingers gently through it then slid them down his body to where his now flaccid member stood bobbing in the water fascinating her. 

‘You are so beautiful,’ she murmured as she took him gently in her hand feeling the softness of his preciousness, gently lifting it a little with her fingers before she ran her them down to the base and cupped him. He gave a small sigh and she looked at him as he watched her. ‘You are going to be the death of me you know. You make me want you twenty four seven don’t you? Have pity on a poor boy, I’ve barely got my breath back,’ he mock complained then laughed. ‘It’s your fault you know, lying there like an Adonis.’ He fairly roared with laughter at her comment. ‘Like an Adonis? More like a beached whale is what I am feeling like right now.’ ‘Oh yeh sure, you look like a beached whale. You know you are like the thinking woman’s Viagra to me don’t you. You really are such a tease,’ she laughed and splashed him. 

He sat up. ‘Right, its war is it?’ He laughed and splashed her back. ‘Oh no you don’t,’ she moved quickly away from him. He was on his feet in no time now and moved into deeper water and half waded, half plunged in after her but she was a good swimmer and made it half way across the pool before he caught her and tried to dunk her under. 

They spent the next hour or so swimming around, racing each other from one side of the pool to the other and generally mucking around. It wasn’t until they took a breather and were once again sitting in the shallows that they noticed the sun had moved across the tree line and they realised it must be getting on for late afternoon. Not that either of them really cared too much but neither of them wanted to be making their way back in darkness either so they rather hurriedly got dried with the towels that he had packed in the pack and then dressed and made their way back along the path until finally they emerged on the beach once again just in time to witness the most glorious of sunsets.

They walked home arm in arm under the twilight sky enjoying the murmur of the waves and the stillness descending down upon them, the sky turning from its vivid orange and pink hues into an inky lilac then purple mask until finally as they reached the cottage and went in, the first evening star twinkled out of the infinite navy curtain spread out across the horizon. 

Before doing anything else Rolly lit the fire in the lounge room then they both washed and brushed the sand out of their clothes and hair. ‘Tell you what; if you want to set the table how about I make some dinner then we can snuggle up in front of the fire and maybe have a quiet night reading if you like, there’s a ton of books over there on the shelves. I don’t know about you but I am buggered and just feel like a quiet night then maybe later how about a soak in the tub?’ ‘Let me cook and how about you have a bit of a rest,’ she suggested. ‘No, its okay I have it all under control. Really it won’t take long, now off you go.’ 

He gave her peck on the cheek and a little push towards the door into the lounge dining room. She laughed and did what she was told. She knew it was useless to argue with him. She knew once he had set his mind on something there was no changing it so she gave up and set to it pattering around getting place mats from the sideboard he told her they were kept in, and then going backwards and forwards from the kitchen pantry where the silverware, plates and glasses were kept she laid the table.

She noticed a candelabra on the side board complete with candles and other candles in their respective holders dotted here and there around the room, a testament to necessity in the case of black outs from storms, even though he had told her they had their own generator if push came to shove, but still the thought of a candle light dinner rather took her fancy and in between poking the fire to make sure it kept burning and finishing off the table, she managed to get every candle lit just as Rolly appeared in the door way carrying a large heavily laden tray. 

Carrying it carefully over to the table he put it down and gazed around the room. ‘Looks lovely,’ he said appreciatively giving her a hug and he pulled out her chair for her to sit down. She took in a long sniff as he lifted the lid on a tureen and her stomach growled. ‘That smells wonderful. I didn’t know I was so hungry but I could ask the same thing. However did you manage to cook all this,’ she waved her hand towards the dishes that he was uncovering. ‘Pass me your plate babes,’ he held out his hand to take it from her, ‘well I told you that I pre ordered a few things and this was one of them. It’s been sitting in the freezer waiting for us,’ he admitted. ‘I could have said it was something that I just whipped up but somehow I didn’t think you would believe me.’ She laughed. ‘You’re right I wouldn’t have.’ 

Before sitting down to eat he went over to the small sound system that she hadn’t noticed in the corner of the room and carefully went through a small selection of CD’s before choosing one to his liking and put it on softly in the background. They sat eating quietly savouring the food and each other’s company, leisurely taking their time to purely enjoy themselves. It was so good not to have to rush, not to have to be somewhere or meet some deadline. Just to live in the moment without a thought of something that needed their immediate attention. It wasn’t really until that moment that they both realised how busy they had been for so long and how much they really did need a break away from it all. 

‘I love what we do and what we’ve done with work but oh…’ she sighed and stretched after pushing away her plate her appetite fully sated, ‘but this is heaven.’ He reached across the table and took her hand, playing with her engagement ring absent mindedly, ‘It is rather isn’t it.’ They sat gazing at each other silently for a moment then Skye gave a massive yawn. ‘Oh dear, I am sorry. It’s not the company I assure you I am just so tired.’ ‘It’s the sea air. It invigorates and amplifies everything. I always find I go full pelt at everything when I am down here, have a massive appetite and then sleep like a rock. It recharges you while exhausting you but in a good kind of way.’ ‘I know what you mean,’ she said through yet another yawn. ‘It’s exhilarating so much so that you want to get out of the house and do things like a mad thing but then all that exercise hits you when you finally stop.’

He nodded. ‘Don’t forget we did do quite a bit of exercising today,’ he smirked. She blushed prettily and he melted. ‘You are awful,’ she threw back at him. ‘Oh but you love it don’t you?’ he threw back at her. ‘You know I do. You know I can’t resist you, you and your Adonis like look.’ It was his turn to blush. ‘Stop it,’ he begged her. ‘It’s true and you know it. I should hire a sculptor to sculpt you in marble so I could gaze upon your beautiful bounty,’ she laughed knowing how embarrassed he would be at her words. Desperate to change the subject he shot back at her, ‘Well this beautiful bounty is going to do the dishes while you load up the fire,’ he laughed embarrassed just as she knew he would be. 

She jumped up and started gathering the plates. ‘No, fair is fair. You cooked I’ll wash up. Now off you go and poke around with the fire and I will have these done in no time. I insist,’ and true to her word she had the table cleared and was up to her elbows in soapy sink water before he had even put more wood on the fire. She could hear him singing while he pottered around as she cleaned up the kitchen and by the time she had finished and came back in he had a roaring blaze going and cushions piled on the floor in front of the fire place. 

He patted the space on the rug beside wear he was laying and she joined him, snuggling up to him. ‘I love it here, it’s so relaxing.’ She curled up to him and he drew her into him spooning her. ‘I love you Skye.’ ‘I love you too Rolly.’ ‘I don’t want to wait too long for us to get married.’ ‘I don’t either.’ ‘Let’s do it as soon as we can then,’ he hugged her. ‘Can we? I mean I know my mum has her heart set on a big family wedding, do you mind?’ ‘Whatever makes you happy as long as it doesn’t take too long to organize it? I can’t wait. I want you to be my wife.’ ‘I want to be your wife and you to be my husband so badly.’ 

He brushed away her hair from her neck and kissed her soft skin. She shivered and moved closer against him as he ran his lips up her neck and caught her ear gently in his teeth breathing heavily. She groaned softly at his touch. ‘Is it so wrong to want you again, to always want you?’ He wrapped his leg around her and rolled onto his back pulling her with him so that she was astride him as he thrust his hips upwards making it very clear that he had no objections what so ever to her last statement and his substantial body was in total agreement. 

They made love to each other there on the floor in a slow tender smouldering coming together of two people so madly in love with each other that not to do so would be a sin. When they had finally had their fill he ran a bath for them and they washed away each other’s sex before climbing into bed and falling into a deep satisfied sleep in each other’s arms. Not even the wind that had sprung up into a storm nor the driving rain was enough to disturb the deep drink of rest they both partook of and so they rested the night away holding each other like there was no tomorrow, clinging to each other even in their sleep.

Both dreamt of the day they were to be married and never parted, small smiles on their faces even in their sleep, contented with life and the promise of the future to come.


	62. Chapter 62

In the morning Sky awoke first. The rain had stopped but looking out the window facing the sea she could see dark storm clouds on the horizon. It had turned much colder too and more like the middle of winter than the abnormally sunny and warm spring like day they had spent the day before. 

She got up and dressed quietly, not wanting to disturb Rolly from his sleep. She knew that he must still be very tired. The long drive down coming on top of what had been a very long and she was sure, tiring Christmas Eve and Christmas day had been pretty exhausting for him. Meeting all her family, even though he hadn’t said so, had to have been tiring and he needed his sleep so she decided she might do a bit of exploring on her own. She left him a note pinned to the front door where he would see it as he came down the stairs should he awaken before she got back and she slipped out the back door, turning to her right with the purpose of going for a walk taking the cliff path in the opposite direction of the cove. 

She walked along the cliff edge until the path branched off to the left and made its way down to the next beach. It was obvious as soon as she took it the path was altogether different from the sandy gently sloping one to the cove, this one was extremely steep and quite slippery with loose rocks and pebbles that moved once stepped upon. It was quite perilous and half way down she nearly turned back but her curiosity got the better of her and she continued down slowly taking care with her footing. Once at the bottom she was rewarded for her effort with the rugged beauty of the stormy sea pounding in, raising a cacophony of noisy breakers and piles of foam along the wind swept beach. 

This beach was very different to the protected cove of the previous day. At either end the cliffs jutted out and the beach itself spread out into a wide and shallow half circle but even with the rocky promontories on either end, they did little to dispel the relentless ocean forces because of the way the land had turned upon itself creating a slightly different angle to the other beach. Bearing the full brunt of the ocean it had a rugged beauty and a charm all of its own. Just as a windblown and stunted tree can be a thing of sculpted beauty, so was the unforgiving nature of the scene in front of her. 

The tide was out so she wandered along the shore line poking amongst the bits and pieces of flotsam and jetsam that the overnight storm had washed in. Bits of seaweed tangled into random erratic patterns wrapped around driftwood and other bits of rubbish churned on to the shore offered up like some kind of sacrifice from Neptune’s depths. She picked up a stick and dragged it along after her leaving a furrow in the sand just like a kid would do, enjoying the freedom of being totally free of all responsibilities and to do as she pleased including drawing a giant heart in the wet sand and inscribing it with “Skye loves Rolly” then giggling like a school girl at the effect of it. 

She thought of Rolly laying there asleep and of his arms around her hugging her during the night. Of his velvety skin against hers when they made love and of the band of faded freckles across his cheeks, and of the way his auburn sun kissed hair formed that small V shape at the back of his neck that she loved to feel in her fingers. 

She ran for the sheer pleasure of it and for the feelings he bought to the surface in her merely thinking about him. She let out a whoop into the air in her overwhelming happiness, just as a child would do unfettered by the shackles of proprietary for conventions sake. She couldn’t help it and she didn’t care, she was bursting full of love for him and didn’t care if the world knew it or not, she was so happy right at that moment. 

When she was nearing the other end of the beach she stopped and stood panting from her exertions, standing leaning on her stick getting her breath back. She’d never been so happy in her whole life and it was all because of him, because of Rolly. 

She quickly turned and made her way back along the beach, an overwhelming desire to be with him engulfing her. She couldn’t wait to see him and hurried up the treacherous path until she stopped to get her breath, leaning on her stick like a mountain climber might do with his pick or staff. She turned once more to view the scene, the dark clouds of the storm closer now, the rain further out to sea coming down in sheets that hid the horizon as she gazed at the view spread out before her, marvelling at the beauty of nature and totally engrossed at the spectacle she surveyed. 

‘Oi, what the hell do you think you are doing here? Clear off! This is private property. Can’t you read the signs on the gate? No trespassers.’ The harsh booming voice startled her so much that she nearly lost her footing and as it was it was only by sheer luck that she didn’t fall over the side of the cliff, the thought of which made her giddy with fear once she had regained her balance. The large gruff man was beside her now and making his presence well and truly known by standing within inches of her. ‘Just what the hell do you think you are doing her girl?’ he spat at her, verbally berating her. 

Feeling totally intimidated she took a step back away from him in an attempt to put some space between her and the stranger. ‘I .. I am not,’ but she didn’t get any further. ‘I don’t care why you are here, clear off. You have no right to be on private property,’ the other blustered at her, ‘I don’t know who the hell you think you are but if you don’t get a move on ..’ he stepped towards her again pointing his finger at her menacingly and making a grab at the stick she was still holding to keep her balance on the slippery path. 

‘You lay a finger on her and you will have me to answer to.’ Rolly’s voice startled them both and they spun around to see him standing at the very top of the cliff looking down at them his face a white mask of anger, his tone so threatening that even Skye was shocked, never having heard him speak in such a manner before. 

In a matter of moments he was between them shielding her from her protagonist and staring at the man, his chest heaving with the anger he was feeling. Where his face had taken on a ghostly pallor of white hot fury, the other stood glaring back rapidly turning from a bright red to purple obviously so furious that he was lost for words. 

Skye stood mutely watching as the two of them stared at each other. She could almost feel the loathing between the two of them and wondered what on earth was going on. She had the distinct feeling that this had nothing to do with her but that there was some long festering animosity linking the two of them, what it was though she didn’t have a clue. She wondered who would be the first to break the glare and cave, giving in and losing ground in whatever battle was raging silently between them. 

She didn’t have long to wonder as with a grunt the man dropped his eyes then as he went to turn and walk away he stopped and looked her up and down giving her a look of utmost contempt before spitting out ‘Slut!’ and stormed off. 

His words stung her to the core and she began to shake, tears springing to her eyes. Rolly quickly wrapped his arm around her to comfort her, at the same time hurrying her up the next few yards to the top of the path, their protagonist only some fifteen feet ahead of them having now taken the path that led away from the cottage and seemed to meander along the cliff top before disappearing into the edge of the belt of trees. 

Things had taken on a surreal aspect for Skye. She knew she probably shouldn’t let the obnoxious stranger get to her but in her whole life she had never felt so threatened. Perhaps it was because it was a total stranger and such a sudden encounter or maybe because it had ruined such a precious morning that she felt like this, she didn’t really know and her mind was too jumbled with thoughts to rationalize it at that particular time but it didn’t matter, all she knew was that for whatever reason there was something very deep between him and Rolly and she felt like she had been a stranger looking on at a situation that your gut reaction told you was really quite bad but you had no idea why.

It was odd too as the man didn’t seem like the type of person who actually belonged here in this place. When she thought about it he looked to be in his late fifties, his clothes were if anything on the expensive looking side and funnily enough, she had noticed when he tried grabbing her stick that his finger nails were well manicured. Had she seen him under other circumstances she would have thought him to be one of those retired wealthy stockbroker types that played at being lord of the manner on the weekends when down on their country property away from the city for a few days break. He was certainly not some local farmer by his looks.

All this was flying around in her head as they reached the top of the cliff and saw him strutting off in the other direction still within calling distance but it was not until Rolly called out that the true horror of her encounter hit her. 

In a voice filled with the utmost contempt and utter loathing his words seemed to cut the air when he called out, ‘Merry Christmas Father.’


	63. Chapter 63

Turning his back on him and staring silently out to sea watching the waves pounding in now with the force of the wind that was picking up as the storm came closer, Rolly gazed moodily lost in his own thoughts, oblivious for a moment of his surrounds until coming back to reality he looked down at the rocks far below him. ‘It’s mesmerizing isn’t it, the ceaseless movement. I have always been fascinated by this view, there is something about it that draws me here to it, something almost,’ he hesitated choosing his words carefully, ‘compelling.’ 

He shook his head and turned to her and for a moment his eyes were the colour of the sea, a slate grey blue, darkened somehow as if to match the stormy waves off shore in the distance. She shivered and he drew her into his arms. ‘Let’s get you home and get a cuppa into you,’ Rolly’s voice was normal again as he spoke, ‘come on babes.’ He turned and with his arm firmly wrapped around her waist they silently walked back to the cottage not bothering to watch the retreating form of his Father. 

In the short time it took them to get back the clouds had well and truly rolled in and they just made it in time before the heavens opened and it began to rain with vengeance. ‘I’ll put the kettle on babes then light the fire. It’s gotten cold and we won’t be going out anywhere today. How about you sit down by the fire and we can sit quietly and have a day to ourselves doing nothing?’ She nodded gratefully to him. She was embarrassed now that she felt so shaken but thankful that he understood. 

While he was getting the tea ready she went ahead and set the fire and lit it, the flames cheering her heart and warming her somewhat tattered soul while she sat staring into the flames lost in her own thoughts. She jumped when he came in carrying a tray with tea, toast and little pots of homemade jam, a jar of marmite, a pot of local honey and plates with scrambled eggs on them covered with silver lids to keep them warm. There was a small dish of creamy locally churned butter and a plate he’d thrown some local cheeses onto, a bottle of HP sauce, and a small bud vase with a bunch of wild flowers he’d managed to quickly pick from the pots of flowers that were growing under the shelter of the patio. 

She hadn’t realised she had been how deeply affected by her confrontation with his father she had been. They ate their toast and drank their tea, both lost in their own thoughts and not saying much. When they had finally had their fill of his offerings he took the tray back to the kitchen and returned, pulled cushions off the coach and made a nest of them on the floor in front of the fire then took her hand and gently pulled her down next to him. 

They lay there snuggled up to each other, the only sounds in the room being the crackling of the logs in the fireplace and the ticking of the Grandfather clock in the corner. The wind whipped around the cottage driving the rain hard against the window panes and the sound of the waves pounding into the rocks below the cliff was the only other accompaniment. 

‘I am so very sorry that you had to go through that.’ His voice was not more than a whisper above the wind but she knew from the tone he was full of regret, ‘I shouldn’t have bought you here.’ She rolled onto her side and looked at him. ‘Tell me Rolly, please tell me what it is, what is wrong between you and your Father.’ 

He sighed and seemed to be considering his options. Should he tell her, did she really need to know all the details of his miserable relationship with his Father? Would it really make a difference, he hoped not, but he feared it would. His doubts gnawed at him. He didn’t want to have secrets; he wanted to share everything with her. He knew deep down it would come to no good if he didn’t but… there was that lingering doubt within him still. He seemed to suddenly make up his mind and he sat up a little and wrapped his arm around her. 

‘You asked me about the girl in the picture, the one in the cave?’ he began, she nodded. ‘I told you that she was my cousin Sandy…’ she nodded again, ‘well she died. She died at the beach that you were on this morning and it was my fault.’ Skye sat silent not wanting to interrupt him, willing him to take his time and talk to her, open up and share whatever it was that troubled him. 

‘As I told you we used to come down here from the time when were little, Summer hols and all that and Sandy used to come with us too. She was an only child, the daughter of my Uncle on my Father’s side, spoilt rotten and that made her pretty head strong and selfish. Don’t get me wrong, she was nice enough but once she made up her mind to do something no one could stop her. She wouldn’t listen to anyone because she was so used to getting her own way. She was about the same age as Sarah but even though they were mates they were so very different, at least with Sarah she had a bit of common sense,’ he went on, ‘but not Sandy.’

‘We were on holidays down here and I remember it was a really hot sunny day so after lunch we went down to the beach. Sarah and I were heading for the cave cove as we called it but Sandy insisted we go to the other one, the surf beach, she said she had met a boy that she fancied and that he was a surfer and she wanted to try body surfing and she could only do that at the other one. Even though it was a warm day there was a strong breeze blowing and whipping up the sea. You’ve seen the beach and know that it’s quite open and can cop a pounding. Apart from that there are rips that are dangerous and just paddling you can feel the strong pull of the under tow but Sandy just wouldn’t take no for an answer.’

‘I begged her not to go in, I told her that it was far too rough for anything but splashing about but she just plunged in, she insisted she was an excellent swimmer and I was just being a wimp, cow towing to my Father because he given me strict instructions to watch the girls. She was always goading me that I had no balls and I should man up and that I let my Father push me around. She didn’t know about the thrashing he had given me when I had climbed up the peaks at my Grans when I was a kid, she thought that I was a sook so it just made things worse as far as her having any respect for me.’

He was silent for a moment, looking back to past memories that were a world a part of the man he was today, then he came back to reality and continued on. ‘She got caught in a rip,’ his voice was cracked with emotion, ‘I tried to save her … I went in after her like an idiot but of course I got caught too. Sarah ran back to the house, it’s in the trees along the drive you know and she raised the alarm but by the time my Father and Uncle Reg had arrived I had lost sight of her. I had somehow managed not to panic and remembered hearing that if you let it take you out to sea a bit further you can swim out of it and so I did that and it saved my life but it was too late for Sandy. They never found her body. They called off the search for it after three weeks. My Father has never really forgiven me.’ 

‘But it wasn’t your fault,’ Skye interjected, ‘you warned her so how can your Dad blame you? That just isn’t fair and doesn’t make sense.’ He shrugged. ‘I should have done more to make her listen to reason. I was nearly fifteen and should have been more responsible, or that is what Father said to me at the time. But Skye, that’s not all,’ he sighed, ‘Uncle Reg never really got over it, it was like something snapped inside him. He blamed my Aunt Ann for spoiling Sandy. He took it out on her terribly after Sandy died,’ he swallowed, ‘their marriage fell apart and he had a breakdown, he completely went to pieces and he…,’ his voice quavered a little and he swallowed, ‘he killed himself.’ 

‘God Rolly that’s terrible. I am so sorry.’ She didn’t know what else to say. She held his hand to comfort him. ‘Father and Uncle Reg were twins, they were close even though they were totally opposite in personalities. I don’t think I have ever told you but back then the business was theirs, they were in partnership, they had inherited the business from my grandfather and it had been quite successful under them. It wasn’t in the field that it is now, that’s only come about in the last ten years but it’s always been a huge success so that when Uncle Reg died it was left to Father to keep it going so you see after what happened I had no choice but to enter into the family business and keep it going too. Father insisted, he made a point that I owed him that much. He resented being left with all that responsibility when it was my fault and he made dam well sure that I knew it too.’ 

‘He sent me off to boarding school, away from Mother and Sarah and made it clear that it was expected that I would make up for what he saw as the damage that I had done. I was irresponsible and immature and needed to get my act together in his opinion and if I didn’t, well then I couldn’t expect to see the family again. I would be chucked out to fend for myself.’ ‘Oh no, Rolly that is so unfair and I am sorry but it’s ridiculous to put so much blame on the shoulders of a kid, and you were just a kid at the time.’ He shook his head. ‘He didn’t see it that way and to be honest, I don’t think that his opinion has ever changed.’ 

‘I got no say in my life, in what I wanted. He wouldn’t have had a clue what I really wanted to do with my life anyway, even if he’d cared, which he didn’t … he made that abundantly clear in no uncertain terms over and over again back then and as I got older. My feelings about anything were not uppermost in his mind. I think that even if it hadn’t happened it would have been the same really. I don’t ever remember him telling me that he loved me or cared for me. I suppose that is why I want to have kids so desperately, to love them, tell them that I love them and be there for them. I don’t want them to grow up feeling that they aren’t wanted the way he made me feel and that all my choices in life are a disappointment, and that I am a disappointment.’

‘Rolly you aren’t a disappointment, you do know that don’t you? You are so smart and clever and such a success with everything that you do. You know I don’t even know your Dad but I hate him and not just because of what he said and what he called me. I don’t even know why he would be so horrid to me in the first place,’ she almost questioned but went on, ‘I hate him for what he has done to you and the lifelong effect it has had on you. I am sure it has been a burden to you ever since you were young and has altered the course of your life, no one has the right to do that to a kid, I don’t understand how a parent can do that and live with them self. Your life must have been governed by trying to live up to his expectations. Oh Rolly, how unhappy that must have been for you.’

She looked at him hoping for more answers to her questions and as she did she thought that he was considering what she had said and deciding something but what it was she didn’t know. 

‘There’s something else that I have to tell you Skye,’ he had made up his mind to tell her about his relationship with Ros and how he had only really fallen into it to appease his Father but just at that moment his phone rang. He had turned it on earlier to get the weather report and when he realised that Skye was not in the cottage then he had forgotten to turn it off again in his haste to go out and look for her. 

The ring tone shattered the silence of the room and broke the intimate atmosphere. Skye jumped when it rang, her nerves still jangling from the earlier incident. She was upset that their isolation had been broken too, it had been heaven having the place to themselves so now that had flown out the window. The phone ringing put a final end to their privacy for good she was afraid, but at the same time she wondered who it could be. 

Who would be ringing him?


	64. Chapter 64

The mood was broken by the ringing of the phone and whatever it was that he had been about to say Skye feared she would never know now. She cursed silently to herself as she listened to his part of the conversation and filled in the blanks for herself. 

‘Roland where have you been I have been ringing you for the last few days,’ Nigel’s voice came booming through Rolly’s phone, ‘season’s greetings and all that stuff. Look I wanted to let you know that we are having a New Year’s eve bash and insist that you come and won’t take no for an answer. Oh and do you happen to have Skye’s number? We want her to come too.’ 

‘Season’s greetings to you too Nigel,’ he responded as soon as he could get a word in, rolling his eyes and pulling a face at Skye making her giggle, ‘sure would love to come,’ more eye rolling. ‘Don’t worry about getting in contact with Skye, I’ll let her know and I am sure she will be looking forward to it too when I tell her.’ It was her turn to roll her eyes. ‘Good we will expect you around eight..’ the phone broke up a bit and he didn’t catch the next part. ‘Nigel you are breaking up.’ ‘Where the hell are you anyway as I said I was trying to get you…’ 

Roland didn’t particularly want to go into details over the phone, the party would be the perfect excuse to announce their engagement officially so he fudged it and made out like the phone was breaking up more than it was, eventually hanging up with the excuse that he was losing range and would see him at the party. 

Skye laughed. ‘You really should have been an actor you know, you were quite convincing.’ ‘I don’t know about that but I do know I just want to be alone with you. This is our time together. I consider it special. It’s not every day you propose to the girl that you love and get to spend time away from everything. I wanted this to be just you and me and to shut out the rest of the world,’ he said pulling her in close to him, ‘but looks like is down the drain,’ he frowned and sighed disappointed that their week was going to be cut short, then looked into her eyes. ‘Do you know how much I love you?’ he asked, kissing her, his tongue seducing her as it always did, closing the door tightly on their previous conversation. One day, he thought, tomorrow I will tell her but not now, not tonight just one more night of just the two of us then I’ll tell her everything, just one more night. 

They made love to the sound of the sea and the rain, lying on the pile of cushions and soft rug on the floor in front of the fire place, the roaring blaze and their passion keeping them warmed. They lay there for hours holding each other, touching their nakedness, nothing was ever enough to quench the desire they had for each other. ‘My god you are so perfect,’ he murmured as he ran his fingertips around her hardened nipples before leaning down and flicking them with his tongue then gently sucking on them slowly working his way down her body until he reached that treasured place of ecstasy. She held his head in her hands, fire running through her with every touch, throbbing into the heart of her being until she was begging him to mount her. 

Her voice and the urgent timbre of whispered desire sent pulses of greedy need down his body until he he thought he could stand it no longer. ‘Oh god,’ his voice was in her ear as he plunged into her warm silky skin, ‘I want you, I need you so very much.’ She wrapped her legs around him loving the feel of him against her as he built a rhythm that they both knew would send them into that place of pure physicality, joining their bodies and minds in unutterably sheer bliss. 

When they had finished and were lying panting he rolled over and gently kissed the spot in between her collar bones at the base of her neck where sweat had pooled from her exertions, lapping at her sweet dew with his tongue. She jerked and let out a small whimper, his body responding immediately. Her whole body was bathed in a fine covering of afterglow and it was such a turn on for him that he continued down her, lapping at her flesh again like a starving thing while she lay helpless to his administrations and his insatiable appetite for her and her for him. 

Late in the afternoon lying peacefully with his head resting on her belly he smiled at the rumbling it made. ‘You are hungry and so am I. I guess we should get dressed and get some dinner. How about a couple of steaks and some whipped potatoes, French green beans and I think I could even manage some lemon meringue pie?’ ‘That sounds perfect, I am starving,’ she answered, ‘but on one condition,’ he raised his eyebrows enquiringly, ‘you let me help? Deal?’ He nodded, ‘Deal.’ She’d given up being amazed at how organized he was having thought of everything down to the finest details as far as what they might like to eat and when they finally finished dinner she was complaining that she may never eat again she was so fully satisfied. 

They spent the rest of the night listening to music, reading and talking, neither of them mentioning the incident with his father. Skye was still stinging deep down inside by his personal remark to her and didn’t really understand it but then he sounded like such a horrible person, anyone that had been so cruel and ignorant in dealing so harshly with someone as young as Rolly had been really didn’t deserve a moment’s thought as far as she was concerned she told herself to appease the feelings she was going through every time she thought about it besides she was thoroughly distracted by a book she had found on one of the shelves. It was called Outlander and captured her imagination immediately. 

‘You look like you are enjoying that,’ he commented with a smirk on his face. ‘Hmm…’ she responded distractedly. ‘I read the first one when it came out. Do you fancy me in a kilt then?’ he asked her. Her eyes left the page she was on to glance over the top of her book and look at the innocent look he had on his face. She closed them for a moment then opened them again but couldn’t shake off the image of him standing in a kilt, bear chested and on a windy day. She licked her lips a little and looked back at him. ‘My god you are such a tease. Can you wear a kilt to our wedding just so I can have the pleasure of ripping it off you on our wedding night?’ ‘Babes, you can rip anything off me any time you want …’ he said suggestively, ‘in fact, how about right now my little Sassenach?’ 

They went to bed relatively early that night. They were both tired and after having a long soak in the bath together they snuggled up and were asleep before either of them had the energy to even think about anything other than sleep for a change, sleeping in till after nine the next day. After breakfast they went for a walk in the woods nestling behind the cottage, Rolly taking her to the stream that fed the springs behind the cove. It was a beautiful spot, green and lush with moss and ferns, the smell of the earth filling their nostrils with the richness of regeneration. 

He led them down a rabbit track that meandered through the steeply inclined trees until they came out by the heated pool. Their eyes locked onto each other and they made love one last time amongst the ferns with their clothes on so great was their need for each other before they returned to the cottage, grabbed some lunch, packed and left. 

As they turned off the track and onto the drive Skye looked back and could see the chimney tops of what looked like a large manor house in the distance. She realized that it more than likely was the main house and that the cottage had belonged to the estate. It made sense now. His Father would not have known that she was staying at the cottage and assumed she was just some stray rambler that had wandered onto his land but at the same time she could understand why Rolly would have not wanted to even let the family know they were down for a few days. Not with the way that things stood between them and besides, he was right; she too wanted nothing more than to be alone with him, shutting out the rest of the world. God knows they would be back in the city in hours now and in the thick of it with their break cut short thanks to Nigel, she sighed. 

She knew that they would have to announce their engagement to Nigel and everyone that was at his party the next night and in some ways was relieved that they wouldn’t have to go on with the pretence they had lived under for the last months but at the same time she hoped that it didn’t change things for them. Plus, she had to admit to herself, it had been a bit of fun keeping things under wraps but she sure would have some explaining to do to the girls in particular. She wanted them to be happy for her and she thought that they would but you could lay money on it that they would be pissed off with her too. Oh well, she would face that when she had to. She was sure that Pat would be there tomorrow night and she would have to face the music but as long as she had Rolly with her she felt she could face anything. 

They got home and she gave her mum a quick call to catch up before Rolly took her out to dinner at what he said was his favourite restaurant. The place was buzzing with a great atmosphere to it, a good crowd and some really good music being played by a pianist and guitarist. While waiting for dessert Rolly excused himself and headed for the loo making a detour on the way back to have a quiet word with the duo who was sitting sipping drinks on their break. 

Their dessert and coffee arrived when Skye heard her name, ‘This one is for Skye from Rolly,’ the pianist said with a smirk in their direction and a wink that left her puzzled until they launched into their version of “I Want To Kiss You All Over” by Exile. If the song wasn’t enough to start a deep blush spreading through her body, when Rolly reached over and took her hand raising it to his mouth before skimming her finger tips so lightly that she tingled, she was very nearly undone. ‘I can’t wait to get you home,’ he smiled his seductive smile at her. She nodded, unable to speak and he called for the bill. 

‘I am being very greedy,’ he went on, ‘I want another helping of dessert and this time it’s you that is on the menu.’


	65. Chapter 65

It was lucky for them both that Rolly had parked in a side street off the main road the restaurant was located in as it was raining when they came out and rushed to his car. The nearby office buildings at that time of night had no passers by to witness the two of them in the front seat of the car unable to contain themselves enough to make it home before they took each other. The moment Rolly got in after opening the door for Skye she was on him. Her fingers nimbly unzipping his fly and searching for him, running her fingers through the fabric of his pants until she felt the thick thatch of fur she loved to bury her face into. 

He flung her seat back and jumped over to her side of the car, somehow managing to roll her on top of him before pushing up her dress and brushing aside her panties. He was ready for her, to plunge into her silky wet flesh as she glided herself down onto him. Slowly, agonizingly slowly she teased him with her hot slickness, with each movement his desire increasing its intensity. When she leant forward and thrust her tongue into his mouth his restraint caved and he bucked with release, relief pouring out of them both until they she lay panting for breath collapsed on top of him like a rag doll. 

‘You are going to be the death of me,’ he rasped as he took big gulps of air into him. ‘It’s your fault,’ she managed to giggle between pants; ‘you are the biggest tease.’ ‘But you love it,’ he retorted, his hands running over the smooth roundness of her buttocks, ‘you do love it don’t you Skye?’ His voice was silky with afterglow and an undercurrent of lust. ‘Stop it,’ she laughed, ‘you know I do and you know I can’t resist you but at this rate we will never get home.’ ‘I can’t help it,’ he gave a small thrust just to prove his point. She groaned and he sighed as he lifted her up slightly then down again. She groaned louder. ‘That’s it babes, let it all out. It feels so good doesn’t it?’ he purred.

Too tired to even have a shower, they fell into bed and into each other’s embrace when they finally got home. ‘I love you babes,’ he kissed her head where it was nestled into his shoulder. ‘I love you so much too babes,’ and then they slept. Turning in perfect synchronization with each other to wake in the morning spooning together in a lover’s tangle of arms and legs, sunshine streaming into the room from the wide panoramic windows greeted them to a new day. 

Skye stretched and then rolled over before snuggling into Rolly’s arms. ‘Good morning my love,’ she smiled. ‘Good morning babes,’ he smiled back and kissed her, ‘did you sleep well?’ ‘Like a log,’ she laughed. ‘Me too, are you hungry? What say we have a shower and then get some breakfast?’ ‘Sounds perfect to me. Did you want to do anything today?’ she asked, happy to fall in with any plans he might have. 

‘I thought that we might go shopping if you feel like it. I want to buy you a dress for tonight. I know Nigel and his parties. The invite sounded casual enough but I have been caught out before, it will be wise to get a smart new cocktail dress and besides,’ he ran his hand down her side appreciating the curve of her body, ‘I am rather hoping that the curtains in the change rooms don’t fit too well and I get a glimpse of your lovely flesh.’ ‘You are a voyeur, you know that don’t you.’ ‘Only when it comes to you and admit it, you love it,’ and they both laughed. 

Just as Rolly had said, when they got to Nigel’s the next night for the party it was smart formal attire in abundance. Skye had felt guilty buying a new dress when she had the stunning little black number in her wardrobe that Rolly had given her but as he pointed out, there would more than likely be some present that had been at both functions and who would have seen her in the black number so she picked out, with his help and many salacious comments thrown in, a red dress that was a knock out. ‘I can’t wait to get you home and tear that off you, you know. You look good enough to eat,’ he whispered into her ear as they stood on the door step of Nigel’s posh home waiting to gain entrance.

It was just as well that she had picked up something new for the very first person they were to see after Nigel greeted them was, of all people, Godfrey. ‘Oh god, what’s he doing here?’ she whispered to Rolly smiling through gritted teeth as she felt the older man running his eyes over her and undressing her. ‘Stay cool babes, I will be on my best behavior and besides, we don’t have to stay long if you don’t want to. Stuff staying until midnight, we can go home and have our own New Year’s Eve party.’ ‘No I have a better idea, why don’t we just announce our engagement now and that way he will know that I am yours and won’t bother us.’ 

Rolly looked and her and grinned, ‘Brilliant, right you are,’ and he took her in his arms and gave her a kiss that left no one in the room in any doubt that they were more than just work colleagues. He turned to Nigel standing near them and in a loud voice declared, ‘Nigel I would like to make an announcement if you would be so kind to get everyone’s attention, I would like to introduce you to my fiancée Skye.’ 

Nigel’s mouth dropped in astonishment at the news; clearly they had kept their secret well. Pat, who had been invited and had been standing talking to Nigel’s wife, had overheard Rolly and instantly sprang over to where they were standing hoping to be the first to congratulate them even though she was reeling a little from the shock, but she wasn’t quick enough. Godfrey beat her to it. 

‘My dear Skye,’ his smooth voice purred, ‘allow me to be the first to congratulate you on your good news.’ He bent down and kissed her on both cheeks, his lips lingering just a tad bit longer than was appropriate given he was now kissing an engaged woman. She did her best to pull away without it making it too obvious but his hand on her arm held her in place. 

‘This is good news although,’ he smirked a little thinking back to the footage his boardroom cameras had picked up, ‘it doesn’t come entirely as a surprise to me,’ she turned crimson under his gaze realizing that she knew only too full well what he was alluding to, ‘I wish you all the happiness in the world.’ ‘Thank you Godfrey,’ she managed to smile through her discomfort but could not break away from him with his hand still holding her arm. ‘You know Skye if there is ever anything that I can do for you,’ he corrected himself as Rolly turned and scooped his arm around her pulling him into himself and forcing Godfrey to let go, ‘do for both of you, of course you must let me know.’ 

‘That’s very kind of you Godfrey and I am sure we will, now if you will please excuse us, we have a few friends to catch up with,’ and he walked Skye away before Godfrey had a moment to speak. ‘Don’t say a word,’ Rolly muttered under his breath, ‘I tried to save you as quickly as I could but Nigel bailed me up.’ ‘Rolly…,’ ‘It’s ok babes, it’s not your fault and besides,’ he turned and looked down at her, ‘your mine now nearly and the whole world knows it.’ He kissed her again, long and passionately, not one single witness in the whole room being left with any doubt that these two were so in love it was joyful to see. 

‘Break it up you two, get a room.’ Pat’s voice broke into their embrace as they tore themselves apart from each other. ‘Pat, I … I am so sorry.. I,’ Skye stumbled on guilty for all the subterfuge she had been a part of hiding their relationship from her best friend. ‘Hmm, I should be angry but really… did you seriously think that I would fall for the “spending time with a friend in the country” routine?’ Skye and Rolly looked a little shaken. ‘It’s all right, obviously judging by the look on the faces of everyone here that no one else realized but,’ she laughed, ‘I knew.’ ‘How, how did you know and why didn’t you say anything?’ Rolly asked her. ‘I knew because Skye has been glowing for the last couple of months,’ Pat observed, 'she is a beautiful woman Rolly but around you, she lights up the room. And besides, I know her well enough to know that I have never seen her in love before you came along. As for not saying anything, I wanted to protect your privacy. If you guys didn’t want it known then that was fine by me and,’ she laughed, ’it was actually fun to watch the two of you struggling to keep a lid on things.’ 

‘Am I that transparent?’ Skye asked. ‘No not to others but to me, yes. Before you say anything let me just say this; I might not have said anything and I might have gone along with it for your sake but it wasn’t easy because I have been so happy for the both of you. I had rather hoped that you would come out at the work Christmas do but… well New Year’s Eve… pretty good start to a new year as far as I am concerned.’ 

The party went on until the small hours of the night. Most of the guests were people that Rolly and Skye new and had met before so the evening was filled with hearty congratulations for the newly engaged couple. At midnight they all went out onto the rear terrace and watched the fireworks they could see in the distance from the heart of the city when the clock struck twelve.

‘Happy New Year my darling,’ Rolly whispered to Skye, ‘here’s to a new bright and shining year, it’s going to be the best ever.’


	66. Chapter 66

Work resumed on the following Monday and the whole company was abuzz with the news of the engagement, news had spread fast. Pat had told Anna and that was all that was needed. When Rolly and Skye rocked up to work there were congratulations wished by everyone they passed in the building. By the time they got upstairs to their office they were already running nearly an hour late. Pat was there to greet them and inform them that they were to make themselves available that Friday afternoon for an afternoon tea and celebration put on after the news had gotten around, and by popular demand there was to be a whip around amongst the staff for a gift and card. ‘That’s so sweet,’ Rolly said to Skye when they finally made it into their office, ‘they really are a great bunch to work with aren’t they.’

The morning flew by as there was a lot of catching up to do after the break and before they knew it, it was lunch time. They had decided to eat down stairs at the coffee shop and take a quick walk to get out of the office but just as Skye was finishing up an email to a client, Rolly’s mobile rang. ‘Hello,’ he answered. ‘Roland its Ros,’ the call took him totally by surprise. ‘Oh umm hi, how are you?’ he glanced across at Skye but luckily she was concentrating on her email so she didn’t notice his reaction to the call. ‘Look I will keep it brief, I am sure that you must be busy and I am sorry to ring you at work but you are a hard person to get a hold of at times. I need to see you, do you think you could meet me tonight. I know its short notice and I am sorry but you know that I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important,’ she stressed. 

‘Is everything all right?’ he was standing with his back to the room looking out the window now and didn’t notice Skye look up at the tone in his voice. Only privy to his side of the conversation, she had finished her email and was drawn to the conversation wondering who it might be. He never seemed to mention any friends from the past other than a neighbour of his from his time in LA so this was a bit of a surprise to her really.

‘I need to see you; we can talk when we meet. Would Spinella’s at seven be okay for you?’ Ros asked. ‘Well,’ he thought for a moment, ‘okay, all right then I will see you tonight.’ ‘Thanks Roland, see you then.’ She hung up and for a moment he stood staring out the window wondering what could be so important that she would want to meet him so suddenly. He hadn’t heard anything from her since she had left. 

‘Are you okay?’ Skye asked, her arms were wrapped around him and he had been so deep in thought that he hadn’t even noticed. ‘Yes sure. Look I am really sorry,’ he turned and looked at her, ‘I am going to have to go out tonight for a while. Why don’t you go home to your mum’s for a visit? I am sure the two of you have a million things to catch up on.’ Skye frowned.

‘Rolly are you sure you are all right?’ ‘I… yeh sure, I have to … I have to meet an old friend and I am not sure how long I will be. What say I drop you off at your mum’s then when I am finished I’ll pick you up?’ ‘Sure babes whatever you want,’ she replied, it was obvious that he wasn’t exactly thrilled by whoever it was that had called him but Skye knew better than to push it besides, the thought of catching up with her mum was a great idea. She missed her and hadn’t seen her for a proper catch up for ages it seemed apart from on the phone so that it was settled. He would drop her off after work, go meet his mate then come back for her and they might even grab some supper on the way home.

Through lunch and for the rest of the day Skye was a little concerned about him as the day wore on. He was very quiet and not at all like himself. On their way to her mum’s she couldn’t help herself but had to say something. ‘What is it babes, are you worried about your friend? Is there anything that I can do?’ He reached across and took her hand and kissed it. ‘I love you Skye, you know that don’t you?’ She laughed. ‘Of course I do, I love you too. Are you okay?’ ‘As long as I have you then I am fine.’ But that wasn’t how he was feeling. He didn’t know why Ros would want to see him and he was worried. It was unlike her to contact him after all these months and she said it was important. Well, he thought, he would soon find out. 

* * * * * * *

‘Rod, there’s a phone call for you.’ ‘For me’ he questioned, ‘who is it?’ Not used to getting calls at work he couldn’t imagine who the hell it could be. ‘How the fuck should I know, it’s some sheila wants to speak to you. She asked for you by name. Maybe it’s that mythical posh bitch of a girlfriend Skye that you’ve gone on and on about but none of us have ever seen,’ his boss sniped. There was a round of laughter from the other mechanics in the work shop. They took great delight in teasing him and giving him a hard time over his so called girlfriend that none of them thought existed. 

They were right of course but there was no way known that he would tell them the truth of his relationship with Skye or that he was no longer seeing her, the bunch of wankers. He scowled at the others, wiping his hands on his greasy overalls and made his way over to the phone at the side of the workshop. ‘Hello,’ he said, still somewhat surprised that anyone was calling him at work let alone a bird. ‘Hi, you lost your phone a couple of months didn’t you?’ ‘Who is this, have you got my phone and how did you find me, how did you get this number?’ he asked suspiciously. ‘I can explain all that, the point is, do you want your phone back?’ 

Rod was never one to mince words and so he let fly, ‘Of course I want my bloody phone back.’ ‘Do you know the pub on the corner of Smith Street and City Road? Can you meet me there later at say about five o'clock?’ ‘All right but how will I know you?’ ‘I will know you, you will be the one with the scar on your face from the punch to the eye the night you lost your phone right?’ Rod spluttered, ‘What the fuck, who is this, how do you know about that?’ ‘Just meet me there at five sharp, and don’t keep me waiting, I don’t like it.’ The caller hung up without a further word and Rod went back to finishing servicing the car he was working on but not without wondering what the hell was going on.

Arriving at the pub fifteen minutes early, he sat at the bar perusing every person in the room before turning his attention to the door. Each time someone new came in he sized them up, gauging if this person or that was the one that he was meant to be meeting but all to no avail. No one came in matching the vision he had formed in his head of the caller with his phone. He was on his second pint and getting more than annoyed when he glanced across to the doorway again and was surprised by the newest person that entered. Giving the bird the once over he was thinking that the day was looking up until, with a purposeful stride and a scowl on her face, the newcomer came straight over to him. 

It was obvious from the expression on her face that she would rather be dead than frequent somewhere as lowly as the pub was, but for all of that there must have been a reason for the meeting other than a good deed returning a stranger’s phone. She didn’t strike him as the type that would play Good Samaritan, if anything he was beginning to wonder if she wasn’t out to fleece him. Maybe she was going to try blackmail; his mind was frantically trying to think of exactly what he had downloaded on his phone. Christ did he have any porno on it or what, not that he would give a shit if he did, that kind of stuff never really worried him all that much, so what if there was – nothing really mattered to him since he had lost Skye to that ponce in the suit, his whole world had come crashing down around him. Still he wondered what kind of a game this bird could be playing at.

‘Get me a drink and don’t be stingy, make it a double Scotch on the rocks,’ she said sitting down next to him and promptly pulled his phone out of her bag. He nodded to the barman hovering nearby and turned to face her, at the same time reaching out his hand to take his phone. 

‘Not so fast, we have a few things to discuss first and I have a proposition to put to you. Bring the drink over to that table.’ She nodded to a table in the far corner and strode over in its direction before he could even get a word out, leaving him seething at the way she spoke to him. Her rear view was hot as hell but that didn’t sway him. There was no way, not even for his phone, was a fucking woman going to talk to him like that. At that moment he suddenly realised how very much he now hated women and how fucking despicable they were. Fucking Skye, it’s all her fault his mind was raging but at the same time he was curious now. What the fuck did this toffee looking bird want? 

He picked up her drink and grabbing his he walked over to the table and sat down opposite her, looking her up and down evaluating everything about her from her hair to the expensive suit she was wearing. ‘Who the fuck are you?’ he finally asked, breaking the silence. ‘This is your lucky day Rod. I am your new best friend and you don’t even know it yet,’ was her calm response. 

‘How would you like to get revenge?’ His eyes lit up. ‘Ah, I thought that would get your attention. Like I said, I am your new best friend right?’ Rod nodded in perfect comprehension. ‘This is what we are going to do…,’ she smiled and for a moment he thought that he had never been seen anyone look so malicious or delicious. 

‘Just remember,’ her voice was harsh, ‘vengeance is a dish best served cold.’ He smiled back and this time it was her turn to feel scared, very scared.


	67. Chapter 67

Rolly had been distracted all day since he talked to Ros. He had not a clue why she would want to meet with him. He had firmly closed a door on that part of his life when they had split up. He didn’t want his past with Ros to intrude upon his relationship with Skye, it all seemed so tawdry and pathetic to have been in a relationship purely because of their parents, with no love and very little communication, and for all the wrong reasons really when it came down to it. 

He frowned to himself as he drove through the congested streets on his way to the rendezvous with her thinking about it until he finally made up his mind once and for all. It had been long enough and he didn’t want to hide anything from Skye ever again so he would tell her at the weekend and now that she had met his Dad he hoped that she would understand a little of why he hadn’t told her before. A weight lifted from his shoulders and he felt a great sense of relief. Yes, he smiled to himself, she would understand and everything would be okay and he could finally leave the past in the past. 

Despite the traffic being rather heavy Rolly made it to the restaurant Ros had mentioned with some few minutes to spare. It was the same place he had taken Skye to, the one that he loved and that he knew Ros didn’t like so he had been a little startled that she had suggested meeting there. She knew he loved the cosmopolitan feel to the place where as she preferred to dine in what she fancied as Haute cuisine types of places, serving up a measly blob of comfy of this and jus of that. He had never considered it a decent feed and it was just another example of how very different they were, one of only many and not limited to just the sexual kind either. 

He sat at a table facing the door waiting for her. She was late but when she did come in he was shocked. He knew that she was never a slave to fashion and with her plain looks there were times she looked drab even though it had never really bothered him that much when they were together, he wasn’t that kind of superficial guy that judged a person by their looks at all but her previous drab appearance was nothing to how she looked now. She was dressed in a bulky looking sickly green coloured coat that did nothing for her, looking more like a giant sack than a coat and if hadn’t been for the fact that he was expecting her and on the lookout, he wouldn’t have recognised her at all. Quite simply, she looked dreadful.

‘Thanks for meeting me,’ she said as he stood and gave her a polite peck on the cheek and pulled her chair out for her, ‘you look wonderful.’ Her eyes ran over him, appreciating the sight he made. ‘You look ...’ She interrupted him before he could make some courteous comment as she knew he would. ‘I look awful Roland, please don’t. I know how I look.’ The waiter arrived at the table asking for orders, cutting off Rolly’s protesting gallant remarks before he could make them. ‘Just a weak tea for me,’ she requested. ‘I’ll have a double macchiato thanks. Are you sure you don’t want anything else, something to eat?’ he asked her. ‘Just weak tea thanks.’ 

‘You really do look wonderful Roland. There is something different about you. You don’t have that defeated look that you always carried with you, thinly veiled I admit, but it was there,’ she mused, ‘I suppose that is all due to your fiancée?’ She took in the startled look on his face. The day was full of surprises for him apparently. ‘Your father called me. He told me he had had a run in with you down at the cottage and that you had been with a girl that he had assumed was some piece of fluff you were cheating on me with. I had no idea that he didn’t know we weren’t together but here’s the funny part,’ she gave a sardonic little laugh, ‘your mother overheard him on the phone to me and was horrified when she learnt what had happened. Seems that Sarah had spilt the beans to her about your engagement,’ she said with a tinge of regret.

‘It was really quite a hoot of a conversation. Me on the end of listening to your mum finally standing up to your dad, Skye sure must have made an impression on Barbara for her to go to town at your dad the way she did. He admitted to her he’d had a run in with you and I think the fact that you finally told him to go to hell gave her the courage to let rip. I doubt she would have done that just for me.’ ‘Are you all right Ros?’ he asked. He had to admit to himself now that she was in front of him and he saw her face, she didn’t look all right. She didn’t look good at all; she seemed filled with regret and a tinge of bitterness.

‘I’m fine, really I am. I am …’ the waiter returned with their drinks and she paused until he was gone. ‘Roland the reason I wanted to see you is because I am fine. I might not look it but I have never been better. I am pregnant.’ 

Of all the things that had been going around in his mind as to why she wanted to see him that was possibly the remotest and to be honest, it had never really occurred to him. She had always made it clear that she didn’t want children and would only do it under sufferance to appease their parents. Unlike Rolly she had no huge desire to raise a brood of obnoxious morons; the world was already filled with more than enough as it was, as she had always put it to him. 

After getting over the immediate shock he reached out, took her hand and smiled. ‘Congratulations. I am sure you and Linda will be fine parents,’ his words were genuine and warm. ‘Oh Roland, for heaven’s sake,’ she exclaimed pulling her hand away. The restaurant was getting hot and stuffy and she stood and took off her coat. His eyes ran down her and what he had taken for a massive weight gain making her look so frumpy was obvious to him now as being caused by her pregnancy. She was big with child and bloated. ‘I didn’t want this child any more than Linda did.’ 

His face puckered into a frown. He didn’t understand. She looked at him exasperated. ‘You really don’t get it do you. Do the maths Roland,’ she hissed at him. He looked at her blankly. ‘Oh for god sake the night before I left, you remember?’ ‘Oh god,’ he blanched then reddened, ‘the night I met ...’ he stopped himself. The night that he had first met Skye, that dream he had and then he had woken and been so needy, that night, it was that night! Seeing the way he reacted she suddenly had an epiphany. ‘Yes, rather ironical isn’t it that we hadn’t done it for so very long and then it happening the night before I was going to leave you?’ she asked, as the realisation of the situation and its implications dawned within both of them. 

‘But, but you always told me you were on the pill,’ he almost spluttered. ‘As you might recall over the last couple of years we hardly did it enough to warrant it, once a year doesn’t count for much does it and that night was so unexpected… I, I had been planning on leaving for so long that I had stopped taking it.’

‘You know I’ll do right by you don’t you?’ he took her hand in his again and squeezed it in an assuring manner. It seemed to appease the anger in her and she softened. ‘You know it’s my fault really. I am not angry with you, really I’m not. I was never much of partner to you in any sense of the word and for that I am sorry. I didn’t mean it either when I said that Linda and I don’t want the baby. We do. We want it more than anything in the world now. It’s just that I thought that you had the right to know about it and I wasn’t sure that you would want to, you know, now that you have Skye and are going to get married and you look so wonderful and I look so… terrible.’ 

‘I want my name on the birth certificate Ros and I want to be a father to it, to him or her. I want to be a part of his or her life if you will let me be,’ he assured her gently but sincerely. ‘What about Skye, what will she say?’ He looked away. ‘Oh Roland don’t tell me she doesn’t know about me, about us does she?’ He shook his head. ‘Why on earth didn’t you ever tell her? Whatever were you thinking of?’ ‘I don’t know,’ he sighed, ‘I think that from the moment that I met her nothing else, not my past, not us, none of it meant anything to me and I wanted to just live in our own little world. I wanted to keep her apart from my father and well, let’s face it we were virtually only together because of our parents, yours and mine so how do you explain that to someone that hasn’t met my Dad and knows what he’s like.’ 

‘I tried to tell her. I was going to. When were down at the cottage and after running in to him and what he had said to her, well I was going to tell her. I was just about to when the bloody phone rang and interrupted us and the moment was lost.’ She nodded sympathetically remembering only too well how obnoxious and intimidating his father was and how lucky she had been to avoid him as much as she could whenever possible but she also remembered times when she knew that Roland had borne the brunt of whatever tirade his Father had chosen to unless upon him all too often. It was soul destroying so she understood very well how Roland’s life had been rather much a hell up to that point and he would be more than likely justified in wanting to break away from it and keep Skye protected from it. 

‘I guess now that she has met Dad,’ he was saying, ‘and under the circumstances that she met him, she will understand a bit more than she would have about us but really, until you know him how can you have any idea of what it is like to have someone like that in your family. You know what it is like, you know him but Skye comes from a totally different background. She has a loving family and you have no idea how close they are. She wouldn’t have been able to comprehend how anyone could have…’ ‘Could have been as cruel and sadistic or had such unrealistic expectations of their own child,’ she observed. ‘Yes, I guess that’s a fair appraisal.’ 

‘I’m so sorry Roland. I am sorry for everything,’ she said quietly. ‘You must love her very much.’ ‘She is my world Ros, I would be lost without her.’ ‘I understand and if she is half the person that you believe her to be then I think that she will understand when you tell her. Look I have to go, Linda is waiting for me.’ She stood and began putting on her coat while he got the bill and paid it then escorted her out. 

They stood outside for a moment. ‘Ros may I … do you think I,’ he wrapped his arm around her and hugged her, ‘could I feel…’ she knew immediately what he was trying to say and took his hand, unbuttoning her coat she gently slid it across her swollen belly. ‘Here,’ she said moving it a little until he felt a movement. ‘Oh my god, I felt it, I felt it moving. Is it a boy or a girl?’ he asked eagerly. ‘Do you really want to know?’ ‘No don’t tell me. As long as it’s healthy and you are healthy and happy then that’s enough.’ 

She looked up at him and smiled. ‘Skye is one very lucky girl to have you Roland. You are amazing. I never told you before but you have no idea how much I respect you. You are such a decent person despite what you have had to put up with. If I was that way inclined I would have you in a heartbeat but luckily for Skye I’m not. This is one lucky little baby to have you as its father.’ He lent down and kissed her, hugging her gently to him. ‘Best get a move on, we’ve been standing here a while and you two will be getting cold. I will call you when I have told Skye and perhaps, if you don’t mind, we could meet up and she could get to know you.’ ‘I’d like that and I think Linda would too, she’s mellowed a lot since we’ve been together and now that she’s going to have baby to look after she’s a different person but then so am I. Who would have thought?’ 

She grinned and turned away waving to him as she walked to the parking bay next to the restaurant where she was parked. ‘Take care,’ he called after her smiling and he headed for his car and then on to pick up Skye. 

To an observer they would have been taken for just another happy couple expecting a child, a touching scene of two caring people starting a family. 

Rolly got in the car and drove off into the night to the one woman that he loved, leaving behind him the child that was unknown but had managed to steal his heart in a day that was filled with surprises, some of which were unknown to even him yet.


	68. Chapter 68

‘I missed you so much,’ Skye whispered into his ear as she lay in his arms. He had been longer than he had intended with his meeting with Ros so by the time he picked up Skye and they headed home it was getting late and he was tired but never too tired to make love to her. They had picked up take out on the way home, eaten, and showered and were now lying in the afterglow of orgasm, their bodies sated with the pleasure of their connection. 

It seemed totally incongruous to tell her about Ros and the baby right now. It would keep until tomorrow. Selfishly he wanted one last night to themselves, just them and their little world. He wanted to believe that their love was strong enough to hold up to what he had to confess to her, he believed in her enough to hope she had a loving heart and could forgive him for not being able to be totally open with her and for not being strong enough throughout his life to tell his father to go to hell with his ideas of what was expected of him. He pushed down his self-doubt and his demons wanting and needing to trust in her strength of love for him. He had to believe in it or he would crumple. 

‘I missed you so much too. I am only half a person without you babes. I couldn’t live without you, you know that don’t you? I don’t want anything to ever come between us Skye. Promise me, promise me that nothing will ever,’ his voice choked with emotion and barely hiding the urgency he was feeling. She turned on her side to face him and stroked his face. ‘Nothing could ever come between us. I love you. You are everything to me, you are my everything. I never loved anyone before you and will never love anyone else ever again the way I love you Rolly. Well not unless I meet Bill Compton,’ she laughed and poked him in the ribs. ‘I mean well they do say vampires can go all night you know,’ she purred running her hands down the flat muscles on his stomach until she found his thick thatch of fur and gently cupped him. 

‘Well in that case I guess I am just going to have to prove that I can vamp up aren’t I?’ his insecurities put aside for the moment as his fingers found her breasts and he gently took a nipple between his delicate fingers and teased her until she was hard. ‘God your skin is like silk,’ he mumbled as he bowed his head and slid his tongue down her neck, across her collarbones and down to the taught rosebud on her breast. ‘So sweet,’ he murmured as his lips brushed her until she was wreathing under his administrations to her, his body pumping against her in his desire to take her. 

She woke several hours later shivering. She was cold and reaching across the large bed she felt for him but the bed was empty and judging by the chill of the sheets he had been gone for some time. She flipped on the bed side lamp and got out of bed, throwing on his shirt lying on the chair in the corner then she slipped out of the room in search of him, pattering down the stairs silently, stopping halfway down to listen. She could hear the soft sound of music coming from towards the front of the house and knew he must be playing the piano. When she reached the closed door of the front room she stopped again and quietly opened it. 

She stood watching and listening fascinated by the words and the music of the song. She had never heard it before and was taken not only by the melody but by the words he was singing quietly to himself as his hands glided over the piano keys.   
Song for Skye

They said I’d never find you  
That I was a joke  
Who would want me  
I am nothing  
They said I was a loser  
Didn’t belong  
Would always be alone

You walked into my life  
Gave me your love  
You saved my life  
You are my love

They said I was no good  
I’d never be a man  
Nothing to give a woman  
Never amount to much  
They gave me no hope  
I was lost  
Drifting in an empty sea  
Drowning in loneliness

You walked into my life  
Gave me your love  
You saved my life  
You are my love

They said I was a fool  
A sucker for love  
Who was I to kid myself?  
Dreaming of the moon  
Reaching for the stars

You walked into my life  
Gave me your love  
You saved my life  
You are my love

Then you walked into my life  
Then you gave me your life  
And you saved my life  
And you are my life

And will always be my life and my love

You are my life.

She watched him as sat there silently staring into space after he had finished playing and her heart nearly broke with the love that she was feeling for him. She wanted to hold him, protect him and heal him from what his father had done to him, to give him everything, to be everything for him. Moving noiselessly over to him she draped her arms around him, engulfing him. ‘That was the most beautiful song I have ever heard,’ she whispered afraid she would break into the spell hanging in the room. ‘I wrote it for you,’ his voice was husky with the emotions running through him as he turned and took her in his arms burying his face in her chest. ‘I love you Skye,’ he sobbed, ‘I love you god help me.’ 

They clung to each other so much in love that it hurt, Rolly scared of what tomorrow would bring and Skye feeling the inner demons that seemed to be eating him. Her tears mingled with his as he held her tighter and tighter, clutching at each other’s very souls until it was dawn and they awoke together locked in the same embrace they had finally fallen asleep in after he had carried her up to bed. They got up and showered together, touching each other, never far out of reach of each other united in their undying obsession to be close. 

They spoke little throughout breakfast and their morning commute to work. There was no need. The night had melded them together as one and there was no need for words. The silence wrapped around them like a cocoon of infinitesimal silken protection binding them together more than any wedding vows or promises could. The outside world had shifted into something surreal that couldn’t touch them; the only reality was the touch of their skin and the undying love they felt for each other, just as all lovers – true lovers, feel. 

They glided through the day, sleep walking amongst the reality of everyday mundane tasks. That was not their reality; theirs was above the day to day grind. They lived for the time when they could be alone with each other and block out everything except the other’s presence. Pale ghosts sleepwalking through a world that would never understand the strength of their passion for each other.

Finally the day was over and they made their way to his car. As they got in the email alert on her phone sounded and she fished it out of her handbag groaning. ‘Leave it, it can wait till tomorrow if its work,’ he muttered annoyed, not wanting anything to intrude on their time together. ‘It’s okay it’s my personal email, it’s not work. I best check in case it’s mum.’ She laughed. ‘You know it’s your fault, if you hadn’t given her that new whiz bang phone at Christmas she would still be using her old one without email but since you did she’s emailed me non stop. She even sent me pictures of wedding cakes at lunch time trying to give me a hint to set the date,’ she laughed as she flicked through the apps on her phone until she found her email and hit the login screen and opened a rather cryptically titled email and opened the attachment. 

‘Well you can look at it on the way home but at least put your seat belt on,’ he reminded her as he buckled up. ‘Okay give me a sec…’ her voice trailed off as she sat staring at the images on the screen of her mobile, flipping from one after another to the next one and on and on. Her mouth was open and her hands were trembling at the sight of the pictures. She had turned a sickly shade of green and was sweating. ‘Skye put your seat belt on, I don’t want to get fined if we are pulled over…’ he stopped mid-sentence when he had turned a little to insist but saw her face and knew that there was something desperately wrong. 

His eyes trailed down to her phone cradled loosely in her hand only to see the image of himself standing outside the restaurant last night kissing Ros, looking insanely happy as one arm wrapped around her and the other tenderly cradled her pregnant belly. He blanched at the sight. When his eyes met Skye’s tear filled ones he sat mouthing wordlessly, his brain frozen in horror at look of betrayal on her face. ‘Who is she?’ Skye’s voice was a whisper, ‘who is she?’ she asked again louder, anger cutting through the air. ‘She… I …,’ he stammered. Something inside her had snapped. ‘I thought that you said you have never been in love before? You told me over and over that you had never been in love.’ 

He looked back at her mutely, paralysed by her reaction. He wanted to explain. He needed to explain but he couldn’t get the words out, noiselessly pouring his heart and soul out to her by just the look on his face. But Skye was beyond comprehension of anything but one burning question tearing at her heart. ‘Is the baby yours?’ No words would come no matter how hard he tried to answer. His mouth had gone dry as dust. ‘Is the baby yours?’ she sobbed, her words almost strangling in her throat with fear at what his answer might be. He looked away then looked back at her. She held her breath and waited for what seemed like an eternity before he answered. Her heart was beating like a drum and her mind was numb with anticipation and foreboding. ‘Yes, yes the baby is mine.’ 

Skye felt like she had been punched in the stomach. She flung open the door just in time to lean out and vomit. Her head was spinning. It couldn’t be true. The woman in the picture looked hugely pregnant to her eyes and seeing that they had known each other for… no she couldn’t even think of it, she didn’t want to work out the sums, she didn’t want to know the truth of what her suspicions were tormenting her with, that he had gotten someone pregnant after they had met. She wanted some dignity to be left to her so with a swift movement, quicker than she thought that she could possibly manage given the condition she was in, she reacted. 

Before he could stop her she snatched her bag and was out of the car. He sat for a moment stunned by her reaction. His heart was beating so hard he thought it would burst and his ears were ringing with her words - is it yours? The cold air blowing into the car from the open door snapped him back to reality and he jumped out of the car and ran after her but by the time he reached the street she was gone. He looked frantically up and down the road and the next but it was no use, there was no sign of her anywhere. 

He snatched his phone out of his pocket and rang her number but there was no answer, it went straight to message bank. ‘Skye, please I can explain. Please answer or call me, Skype please,’ he begged into his phone. He waited for moments that became minutes that became an eternity. 

She didn’t return his call, he knew then. It was over.


	69. Chapter 69

Rolly didn’t remember driving home. He did remember how cold he was, how he was chilled to the bone and shaking that much that he could barely get his key in the lock of the front door. Funny how stupid little things stand out when you are in crisis, the kind of things that under normal circumstances seem so mundane and uneventful, things that you do every single day of your life automatically but when you are under enormous strain they become mountainous obstacles to overcome and amplify the futility of your own self worthlessness.

Somehow he had managed to get home in one piece and somehow he had managed to get up the stairs to his room to fling himself onto bed and curl up in a foetal position where he would happily have stayed for the rest of his miserable life if he had had his way. What did it matter anyway? His life was over as far as he was concerned. He had no life without Skye in it to share it with him. The room began to spin as her words swam around and around in his head. Suddenly he felt the colour of his faced drain to a sickly white as he was hit by a wave of nausea that sent him flying to the bathroom. 

Wave after wave of pitiful retching shot through him as he knelt trembling over the toilet before sinking to the floor where he lay shivering pitifully but he no longer cared, all that he cared about was Skye, and he had lost her. What did anything matter any more, she was gone and it was over. He was lost in a world of pain and desolation, bereft and numb. The room began to spin again as he held onto the floor and he closed his eyes but all he could see was her face. When it finally passed again and his stomach settled a little he continued laying there on the cold marble floor, oblivious to everything, wearing his misery like a cloak that engulfed every waking thought. 

Despite his state of mind, eventually exhaustion over took him and getting a bucket from under the sink, he made his way to bed. He didn’t trust himself enough to make it to the bathroom again if he had another attack and he didn’t relish having to clean any mishaps up in the morning in the state he was in. Throwing his clothes into a heap on the floor next to the bucket, he flung himself into bed and lay there wishing that he was dead. In spite of being inconsolable, sleep over took him eventually and he drifted into dark and troubled dreams only to wake with a blinding headache, a raging sore throat from all the vomiting on the previous night, and his mouth feeling totally disgusting. 

‘Roland, its half past eight, you are going to be late for work aren’t you?’ Sarah asked as she slipped into the room and came to a shocked halt at the sight of his face looking like a ghastly pale spectre blinking back at her from beneath the covers. ‘God Roland, you look dreadful,’ she moved over to him and sat on the side of the bed, reaching over to put her cool hand on his forehead. ‘You are burning up. How do you feel?’ ‘Leave me alone, I am all right,’ he barely croaked, lying. ‘What’s wrong, what has happened, you look like shit?’ A surge of loss flooded him. He had hoped like hell that he would wake up and it would all be a bad dream but when he had awoken there it was, reality hitting him like ton of bricks crashing over him and taking his breath away all over again. He opened his mouth to say something but his lips trembled and he fought to control tears that sprang to his eyes. 

‘Oh Roland,’ her heart went out to him. She didn’t know what had happened but in her whole life she had never seen him anything but strong. Even when copping the worst berating imaginable from their Father that she had ever seen, she had never even seen the slightest of a flinch from him, so to see him lying there reduced to this pathetic state nearly broke her heart. She gathered him into her arms and held him while his body was racked with the most piteous fit of sobbing she had ever witnessed. ‘It’s all right, it’s going to be all right,’ she crooned softly to him as she stroked his back and his hair like he was a hurt child. ‘No, no it won’t. You don’t understand, it’s not all right and it never will be again,’ he whispered. 

‘You can’t go to work like this, do you want me to ring them and tell them you won’t be in?’ she asked after the worst of his crying fit had subsided. ‘I don’t care,’ he mumbled and now she was really alarmed. ‘Will you tell me what happened?’ He lay there mute, unable to verbalise the horror of the previous day. ‘Is it Skye, have you two had a fight?’ ‘Please, please I can’t talk about it,’ he begged her. She nodded and gently stroked his hand. ‘I’ll ring work and tell them that you won’t be in, that you have come down with the flu, there is a lot of it going around.’ As she got to the door he called out to her, ‘Sarah, thanks I won’t forget this,’ and he rolled over on his side and closed his eyes hoping that sleep would take him away from his painful reality. But it didn’t, nothing could take away the pain and regret. 

He stayed in his room either lying in bed to toss and turn or sitting in his favourite chair staring out the window with blank eyes full of remorse. If only. If only he had told her about Ros, if only she had listened to him and if only he had explained, if only she would ring him. But his phone never rang and he couldn’t bring himself to try ringing again and facing the rejection. If only he could turn back time… if only the earth would swallow him up and take away this pain. Nothing could take away the emptiness he was feeling, the anguish, the heart break he felt. He felt like he was dying, he wanted to die, he couldn’t bear the thought of being in the world without Skye with him, touching her, hearing her voice, holding her close and cherishing her. 

Every thought was an agony of recrimination and loss. He was beyond despair; he was bereft of any sensation other than abject misery. He didn’t care that he stank having not showered or shaved for days, his mouth filled with the sickly taste of stale coffee and bile. He didn’t care, he didn’t care about anything, and nothing mattered. Everything, life its self was a waste of time if he couldn’t have Skye, she was his reason for being, the only thing in his whole sorry sad life that had made sense and given him any real love and what had he done, he’d blown it. It was over. His mind clung on to the word over, tormenting him with it constantly until he held his head in his hands and squeezed it as if that would crush it out of his system forever but it didn’t. Nothing would. Nothing mattered to him, he kept convincing himself, like a worn out and broken record repeating over and over again until he thought he would go mad. He was done in. 

By the evening of the following Sunday of his self-enforced mourning Sarah was beside herself with worry. He hadn’t come of out his room and had refused to eat, living on coffee and nothing else. His face had a haunted look about it and his eyes, his eyes were huge, red rimmed and dark circled on the few occasions he had let her come in to see him. For the first two days he had barely spoken and when she had questioned him about the cause, mentioning Skye’s name in her attempt to find the reason of whatever was so very wrong, his face had turned white. He had even thrown up on one occasion and that had scared her more than anything else. 

There was something very wrong and she didn’t know what to do. In the early hours of the morning she could hear him sobbing and it cut through her like a knife. In desperation she had rung his work and asked to speak to Skye only to be told that she no longer worked there. What the fuck was going on she wondered to herself over and over. It had to be something really shocking for this to have happened, only days ago they were heartbreakingly in love, head over heels and joking with her about being in the wedding party when she had called him on the previous Sunday night to let him know she would be coming back on Tuesday night. The two of them had been giggling like a couple of love sick teenagers throughout the whole conversation on speaker phone.

So what had happened for it to come to this? This couldn’t go on she decided, the way it was heading she was fearful that he would have a complete breakdown if he hadn’t already, she worried. She had to do something but she just didn’t know what. 

Just as she fell asleep she made up her mind. There was nothing else for it she would ring Skye at home first thing in the morning she decided as the soft strains of music coming from his room reached her ears, the words of a song filtering through her tired mind, something about only when you are in love can it hurt this much but her exhausted mind shut out the lyrics, her very last thought being that at least the music would drown out his crying. 

When she got up on the Monday morning and went down stairs to make a much needed coffee before attempting to reach Skye, she was surprised to find Rolly in the kitchen dressed in his suit and although he looked dreadful, at least he was up and seemed to be about to leave for work. His clothes seemed to be hanging off him, his weight loss didn’t surprise her as he hadn’t eaten now for days but it was dramatic to say the least. The skin on his face was taught across his cheek bones and had a transparency to it, a sickly pale green tinge to it accentuating the gaunt appearance he had now. 

She said nothing when she noticed his hands trembling as he rinsed out his coffee cup, dried it and put it away. What could she say; that she was worried sick about him, that she wanted desperately to know what the hell had happened and that whatever it was she wanted to make it better for him? Instead she said nothing, hoping that when he was ready he would confide in her. 

All she could do now was be there for him no matter what was to come and hope and pray that was enough, then she suddenly had an idea. She would be there for him but there was something that she could do and as soon as he left for work she picked up the phone and punched in a number.

‘Hi it’s me Sarah, how are you? I was just wondering if you would like to meet for a coffee later, I need to talk to you. The conversation didn’t last long and ended with an agreement to meet later that morning, ‘Okay gotta go see you then.’ She hung and smiled to herself for what seemed like the first time in days.


	70. Chapter 70

‘You will have your own office of course and I will arrange for you to have an assistant,’ his words were washing over Skye. She was trying to listen, it was important but she was kidding herself. She hadn’t been able to concentrate on one single thing since the moment Rolly had admitted that he was going to be a father and not to a baby of their own. It had broken her heart. A wave of nausea hit her again and it was all she could do to control herself. Focus, she kept telling herself as she forced a smile onto her face and said all the right words. It was vital that she kept this job. She needed the money now that her future was so uncertain since it was over with Rolly. 

She was grateful too. When she had rung Godfrey and asked him if he was serious about the offer of a position within his organization, and he had said yes, she had been apprehensive but since showing up he had been wonderful. He had not asked any of the probing questions about why she had left the company let alone alluded to the fact that she was not wearing the engagement ring he had known her to be sporting at Nigel’s New Year’s Eve bash. In fact he had been the soul of discretion and very much a gentleman about her situation, not to mention the position he offered her that he especially created just for her, well to say it was lucrative would be an understatement of epic proportion. 

All in all she could count her lucky stars really, she had managed to fall on her feet at the very time she needed to and even though she knew it and was so grateful for it, she was so desperately unhappy that the minute she was on her own after work she was in tears, sobbing her heart out in the privacy of her own room back at home. 

She had fled Rolly that fate filled night managing to catch a bus home, telling her parents that she was coming down with something as an excuse for her showing up out of the blue and they had believed her because she certainly looked ill. Barely able to hold it together in front of her family she had gone up to her room pleading illness and telling them that she just wanted to sleep it off so that she could be left alone and not have to face them. 

She lay on her bed for hours hoping that it had all been a bad dream but each time she picked up her phone to look at the pictures that had been sent to her, she knew it wasn’t. She stared mutely at the images, and there were lots of them, wondering what this woman meant to him that he would be having a child with her.

A baby, they had talked about having kids and how much each of them wanted it more than the whole world. She had hugged herself with happiness at the thought of being able to give him the gift of a child and the knowledge that having his baby would give him the chance to be the kind of father he had always wanted to be but had never had in his own life. The joy of seeing his face when she told him that she was pregnant was an overwhelming dream for the future but now, all that was gone. 

She lay awake all that long night going over things in her head trying to come to terms with it but no matter how she looked at it she couldn’t get passed that he had secrets from her making a lie out of his insistence that he wanted to share everything with her. Secrets, the very word made her feel sick. Too many secrets stood between them. Obviously he didn’t think it important enough to share the fact that he was going to be a father and by the look of the pictures it was going to be very soon. She had to accept it and move on, life was too short to waste it and she needed to make plans for her future. When it was getting near dawn and she had made up her mind what her next step was, it was just as she was about to drop off to sleep when she suddenly realized she had no idea who it was that sent her the email with the photos. 

After a couple of hours sleep she woke in the morning with a splitting headache and feeling sick to the stomach but she had made up her mind what she was going to do and nothing was going to stop her. She rang Pat at work to say she was going to be late and learnt that Rolly wasn’t coming in so with that news she knew the coast was clear for her to carry out her idea. When she hung up from Pat she checked her phone and the address of the sender of last night’s graphic news. It came from an address she didn’t recognize and she wondered about that. How could anyone, a total stranger for all intents and purposes, get her address? She made a mental note to check her security settings then got up and had a shower before heading to work. 

She got into work earlier than she thought possible because she had lost all concept of time, walking around in daze but as prearranged with Pat when she had called her, she cleaned out her desk then rang Godfrey and luckily he agreed to meet with her. As she was leaving for her meeting she hugged Pat and handed her an envelope asking her to give it to Rolly when he came back to work. ‘Keep it safe Pat, don’t let anything happen to it and don’t give it to anyone else. And thank you, you have been a real friend.’ She hugged her hard and left, grateful to her for not asking any questions and not making things worse by carrying on about it. She would not have been able to stand it, not from Pat. She was her rock at the moment in her floundering world. 

Nearly three weeks had gone past now and after having to tell her parents the truth, that her and Rolly had split up, her life had become one long endless drag, each day a routine of getting up, going to work, coming home and getting through the darkness of the long sleepless hours when her thoughts turned to the heartache that had become part of her life. She missed Rolly and it showed. She looked ill and she really wasn’t well. It was taking its toll on her. The thought of those pictures haunted her; dizzy nauseous waves flooded her and left her retching at the thought of them. Her only saving grace had been her new position and how busy she was settling into the new work place. It gave her the only joy in her bleak life at the time. 

Godfrey had been brilliant. He made sure her work load wasn’t overwhelming and gave her time to adjust to the new environment she found herself in. Not many bosses would do that but he had explained to her that he didn’t see his employees in that light, that he tried to make the place more like a family than a heartless company that treated its staff like a number and not a valued asset, despite the harsh reputation he had around the city. He encouraged a work life balance she realized shortly after starting there and found it ironical that in a lot of ways his attitude was similar to that of Rolly’s. He really wasn’t anything like she had thought him to be and it surprised her. The more she saw of him the more similarities she discovered.

She wondered if that was because they had both had life experiences that had been sad and had changed them, changed their way of thinking and their outlook on priorities. They both knew that there was more to life than just making money; they wanted to be the best at what they were but at the same time they didn’t want to be sacrificing their souls for the all mighty buck and they encouraged and nurtured their staff to think the same way. They both lead by example and bought the best out in those that they came across and it was admirable. There were so many things to admire in them both really except, except that Rolly was no longer in her life whereas Godfrey was or was for the moment. 

But what of the future she asked herself. She didn’t know what the future held for her any more, it scared her now whereas before she had the rest of her life there in front of to live. Now everything seemed tenuous, an endless question mark of what she was going to do and how she would survive. Sooner or later she was going to have to face facts and decide what she was really going to do and how to move on but right now, she didn’t have the strength to really decide anything more than what to wear to work each day and how to get through the night alone in her bed without the love of her life beside her. 

‘Oh Rolly,’ she sighed, and sobbed herself into a fitful sleep clouded by dark dreams and painful images, a question running through the darkness of her subconscious, ‘what am I going to do without you?’


	71. Chapter 71

‘So, you must be happy now,’ Rod asked, ‘it worked didn’t it? You got what you wanted didn’t you, you are working with your precious Roland aren’t you?’ Sylvia’s face reddened. Unlike the first meeting they had, Rod noticed that she wasn’t quite as polished and confident looking as she had been this time round. The night that Rod had been waiting outside Skye’s home to confront her and he had the run in with Roland, he hadn’t been the only one lurking and spying on Skye. It wasn’t until he had the phone call about his lost phone and subsequent meeting at the pub that he realized he had found a kindred spirit with Sylvia. She hated Skye and wanted her out of Roland’s life just as much as he wanted Roland out of Skye’s life. It was almost too good to be true, a partnership of sorts made for each other in their warped sense of selfishness and obsession.

She was good, she was really good. He had no idea that she was there at the time. Here was someone that was just as devious and cunning as he was and who, if truth be told, had the smarts to go with it. All she needed was the balls to sink the boot in and that was something that he had plenty of. More than she realized at the time of their first rendezvous. But she recognized it immediately when he wasted no time in getting the goods. And boy did he get the goods. 

When she had gotten his message, including the incriminating photos he had taken of Roland and the unknown very pregnant woman he was with within hours of their little get together, even she had been impressed and if anything, just a little disturbed by his relentless need for vengeance. She had told him that she had overheard Skye and Roland talking at lunch down at the coffee shop, making plans for that evening, and that he should head on over to Skye’s house so that he could follow Roland but she had never expected him to work as quickly as he had and with the results that he got. When she had left him he was still at the pub so he must have driven like a maniac to get there on time to follow him. She shuddered a little at the thought of the malice there must be festering inside him to put himself at risk like that. 

He looked like a total bogan but he acted out of pure hatred. Just for one minute she questioned whether or not this was the right thing to do after all, even though she did want Roland she wanted success within the company more. She was ruthless but was she quite that ruthless she asked herself. But it was too late for that she learned when Rod texted her almost before she had finished reading the first message saying that he had already emailed Skye from a fake account he had set up and that it was only a matter of time before she got it and knowing her as well as he did, he pictured the shit would hit the fan sometime in the next twenty four hours, so sit tight and enjoy the fireworks he gloated to her. 

The rest was history as far as that went. It wasn’t until the day after next when she got to work she realized that something had gone down but Pat and Nigel were playing tight lipped. As the week went on she started getting nervous. Roland hadn’t appeared at work and all she could gather was that Skye had left the company. Well at least that was one good thing but when Roland did turn up for work the following week, at her first sight of how shockingly ill he looked she did pause to reflect if they hadn’t gone too far. 

Since then things hadn’t turned out the way that she had thought that they would she sighed to herself. Months of hustling really had gotten her nowhere except that at least Skye was no longer her competition at work but by the looks of Roland now he wasn’t even aware of her other than to find fault with everything that she did. 

‘Shut up and get me a drink,’ she snapped, ‘I don’t have a lot of time. I only have half an hour lunch break and have to get back.’ ‘What’s up your nose then, I thought you got what you wanted. You said …,’ ‘Just get me a drink you little shit. If you want to know where Skye is working so you can go and play the sympathetic caring tossed over lover you say you are then do as I say and don’t take forever about it.’ 

Fucking bitch, he thought as he ambled over to the bar while she sat at a table glowering after him. What a bleeding cow. He had handed Roland to her on a platter after getting those shots of him with that sheila, she’d even rung him and told him how Skye had left the company and she had been given the job as Roland’s assistant so what the fuck was wrong with her, that was like nearly a month ago now and still she wasn’t grateful to him? 

What he hadn’t told her was how he had stalked the bird Mr high and mighty Roland was with at the at the restaurant over the next few weeks, and found out that she had a girlfriend and seemed to have a strong relationship with her if they way they had been carrying on walking arm in arm about the place was anything to go by. 

Made him sick to the stomach to think of it… he was homophobic and anti-gay and despised that sort of thing, it was just another reason to hate the world. But he was keeping that little bit of information that he had discovered quiet because he couldn’t quite figure that one out though, after all why did Roland seem so close to that bird, he just didn’t get it. He shuddered at the thought of it, there ought to be a law his narrow minded brain kept telling him in his repulsion. He knew what he’d like to do to that kind of person. No morals, disgusting, his mind raged to itself. But it didn’t matter as long as her kind didn’t come anywhere near him, and whatever she was, the pictures he’d taken had served their purpose.

Sylvia glanced at her watch. Shit at this rate she would be late back from lunch and that would be just another thing for Roland to snap at her over, god knows he had given her enough grief about that report she has stuffed up the other day. Her dream job working with him and winning him over after Skye’s departure was rapidly turning into a nightmare she had to admit and Roland was not half the person that he had been when Skye was around, she sighed again with frustration. She had got what she wanted, her plan to enlist Rod into getting revenge had worked perfectly, even better than expected and it had managed to split them up but that was as far as it went. Roland seemed like a ghost now, just a shadow of himself. He still ran the company on a day to day basis but he’d lost that spark of dynamics that had been so very appealing and he still looked terrible. 

‘You took your bloody time,’ she remarked when Rod sat down with her drink. ‘Look,’ he snarled back at her sick of her sarcasm, ‘just give me the details of where I can find Skye and you will never see me again. I am sick to death of your fucking moaning.’ ‘Don’t you come at that with me, if it hadn’t been for me you would still be sitting around love sick and moping over that cow Skye. God knows what you men see in her, you are as bad as Roland. Pining away for that little tosser, making a fool of himself and you are no better. You are all pathetic.’ She took a sip of her drink and went on relentlessly. ‘She’s working for Godfrey now, you’ve heard of him right, and if the office gossip is anything to go by you have a new challenge on your hands,’ she taunted maliciously, ‘he’s a different kettle of fish to Roland. You are going to have your work cut out if you think you can compete with him. You are all pathetic.’

Rod’s eye’s narrowed as he looked at her, his face as mask of hatred. ‘Hah,’ she smirked, ‘that got your attention didn’t it. Do you really think that you will have any kind of a chance against a man like Godfrey with his power and money behind him, not to mention charm and good looks? Don’t kid yourself Rod, I feel sorry for you if you are stupid enough to think that she will even look at you. Rumour has it that Godfrey had a hard on for her even when she was with Roland and trust me, he’s not the push over that Roland was. He is ruthless and he gets what he wants so if you think that you have a leg to stand on,’ she scoffed at these last few word, ‘you had better get a move on,’ she snipped. ‘She’s at this address,’ she threw him a hastily scribbled note, ‘now toddle off and don’t bother contacting me again, I won’t answer your calls.’

She stood up and finished her drink. ‘Oh and by the way, Godfrey will give you more than a black eye if he catches you sniffing around. He’s got goons working for him that are paid a lot of money to protect him. Good luck, you are going to need it,’ she advised smugly and waltzed out the door leaving him sitting there with a look on his face that had she seen it, she would have run a mile. We’ll see, he thought to himself, we will see. 

He got up and drained his glass then took out his phone and looked up the address for Skye’s work place and calculated how long it would take to get there. He was supposed to go back to work but this was more important. Sylvia’s rant had left him stung and desperate. He needed to see Skye and win her back, she had to see reason. He was the only one that really cared about her. He was the one that should be going out with her, he told himself. She was his, not Roland’s or this twat Godfrey. He’d show that bitch Sylvia, he show everyone that he was every bit as good as they were. Skye was his and if he couldn’t have her no one would. Yeh, he thought to himself, no one would. 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * 

‘Excuse me Skye, there is someone to see you.’ Skye looked up from her desk where she had been pouring over emails and stretched. Her back was killing her and she felt sick in the stomach. She’d only picked at her lunch and she knew that she should be eating more but she just couldn’t face it. ‘Thanks Louise, did they say what they wanted?’ she asked as she got up from her desk and walked towards her assistant. ‘No, I am sorry. I didn’t get a name, do you want me to find out?’ ‘No that’s okay I will come out.’

Skye waited a moment or two, straightening the tight dress she was wearing thinking that she would have to buy some more appropriate clothes for work, something more fitting for her new role, then she walked over and opened the door only to find the last person that she would ever expected in her life to see sitting there.

Almost stumbling in her shock as she gazed at the visitor, a million thoughts flew through her head but all she could manage to get out of her mouth was the first thing she was thinking, ‘What do you think you are doing here?’ 

‘Skye I think we need to talk,’ was the reply she got.


	72. Chapter 72

When Godfrey bought the building that was to become his global headquarters he had hired the top architect that money could buy and told him to spare no expense renovating the entire site. His only stipulation was he wanted the reception and general working office spaces to be ultra-modern whilst the corporate area up on the penthouse floor was to be formal, a reflection of old school good taste combined with modern minimalistic but not outrageously so. The results had pleased him no end. 

On the ground floor was a chic yet simple general reception area, almost hotel like in the apportioning of large spaces, huge semi elliptical granite reception desk large enough for four staff if the need arose, and nothing else. It reeked of money in its simplicity. 

As you walked in the huge glass doors encompassed by the wall of sheer glass floor to ceiling frontage, the reception area sat to the right of the vast expanse. Immediately in front of you to the rear of the area were transparent lifts taking you up to the various floors housing the multiple levels of businesses that he had within his empire. To the left was a curving glass and chrome banister staircase leading up to the mezzanine where Godfrey had his less formal office at one end and on the other was Skye’s luxuriously appointed office complete with a reception area, a desk for Louise and comfortably fashionable couches for visitors waiting to be vetted prior to seeing either one of them. Standing near the staircase now, looking totally out of place, was the visitor to whom Skye was staring at in stunned disbelief. 

Skye was not generally a rude person but she was so shocked by the appearance of her caller that she simply stood there staring before hastily turning to glance at Louise who, sensing something very wrong, made a discreet departure to the staff recreation room that Godfrey had installed on every floor to encourage everyone to take breaks when they needed them, leaving Skye and her guest to themselves. 

‘Skye I totally understand why you would be rather shocked to see me here but please you must let me explain.’ All Skye could do was stare, her mind just wouldn’t function and she couldn’t speak. ‘It’s not what you are thinking. Sarah rang me and told me how worried she is about Roland. Please you have to listen to me.’ Skye’s legs were shaky as she took in what she was hearing. ‘My name is Ros. I used to live with Roland but it’s really not what you think,’ she emphasized, ‘would you just hear me out, you really need to know how it was and you need to believe that he loves you and only you.’ Her words tumbling out persuasively she hoped in an effort to gain Skye’s trust.

‘Did he send you?’ Skye finally managed to speak even though her voice was no more than a whisper, raw and emotional and yet she couldn’t contain a spark of curiosity deep within her. ‘No! He doesn’t know that I am here and I haven’t even spoken to him since that night I told him I was pregnant at the restaurant. Sarah rang me terribly worried about him. She asked me if I had heard from him at all and we agreed to meet. He would be furious with her and with me if he knew, he’s a very… independent kind of guy and has always had to do the protecting of his women, not the other way around, and he wouldn’t really like this one bit but I am sure that you already know that about him.’

‘I never really appreciated that about him but then I was never in his father’s firing line,’ she mused thoughtfully as though the realization+ had just struck her. ‘As long as I played the dutiful right and proper partner and future wife then his Father basically ignored me most of the time, he never gave two hoots or even noticed about how unhappy either of us was or the lie that we were living purely to make him or society in general happy as he saw it. God if he knew that I was a lesbian … well that doesn’t matter now. What matters Skye is the two of you.’

All the blood drained from Skye’s face at the mention of the images that haunted her and had taken the love of her life away from her. Her mind reeled at the thought of it and she felt nauseated. She wasn’t really taking in what Ros was saying or what she was hearing so strong were her emotions as she stood there opposite her running her eyes over her rounded belly. Here was this woman carrying Rolly’s child standing in front of her looking so very pregnant telling her to listen to her, telling her that Rolly loves her. How could he love her when she was the very proof that he didn’t, when just seeing her brought back an ache in her that she couldn’t bear. Why was she there, why bring it all up again, didn’t she realise that it was killing her seeing another woman carrying his child? She couldn’t bear it and a sudden wave of anger spread through her.

 

‘But it’s his baby isn’t it?’ she spat out, ‘what else is there to say? You are having his baby and I was fool enough to think that he loved me. He said he’d only ever loved me and yet there you are standing there with his child,’ she remarked defiantly, ‘you can’t deny that can you?’ ‘I won’t lie to you, yes I am carrying his child but it’s really not what you think.’ ‘What do you mean it’s not what I think? You just admitted it’s his baby, that is pretty conclusive in my eyes don’t you think?’ 

‘Skye listen to me, you have met Roland’s father, I know you have because he told me what happened down at the cottage when he rang me a while back. He couldn’t wait to get on the phone to denigrate his own son, jumping to the worst possible conclusion that he was cheating on me, that’s the mean kind of a bastard he is. You know what a prick that man is… what you don’t know is, and god only knows why Roland didn’t tell you but he must have had his reasons, you don’t know that the relationship that Roland and I had was virtually only to please his obnoxious father and to some degree my parents. We never loved each other, we were never in love. I have known him for a long time and the only time I have ever seen him truly happy and truly in love was since he found you. Even me being pregnant was an accident. It happened the night the two of you met, he … well he was …’ ‘Oh my god,’ Skye turned bright red when she realized the implication of Ros’s admission. 

‘Yes ironical isn’t it. We hadn’t been that way together for a long, long time and he couldn’t help himself. Don’t you see that from the moment that he met you, you were all he could think of, all he wanted? I had been planning to leave him for a long time, you see I had fallen in love with someone else and had been having an affair for quite a while. And Skye, just so you truly do believe that my relationship with him was virtually platonic, the love of my life is Linda my girlfriend so you see, there really is nothing between Roland and I, and absolutely no reason that you have to doubt the love that he has for you.’ 

‘I didn’t know,’ Skye murmured half to herself, ‘I had no idea. There was always something that I thought that he had hidden, that he kept from me and that I hoped that he would tell me but I suppose he didn’t want to admit that once again his father had dictated his life to the extent of forcing him into a loveless relationship and then to have well, to have to admit to him that he had lost you to another woman would have set his father off even more than normal, if that is possible,’ adding hastily, ‘not that I have any qualms on that score. I am not judging you, you were in as bad a place as Rolly. No one can help who they love and as long as it is consensual and above age then doesn’t everyone deserve to be loved. But I can imagine the grief that his father would give him. It seems like any excuse is good enough to make his life hell.’

‘Oh god, I didn’t even give him the chance to explain,’ Skye went on. ‘I didn’t want to listen to a single thing he had to say. I just threw his love away,’ Skye lamented remorsefully. Ros stepped closer to her. ‘It’s not too late you know. He loves you so very much and he’s doing it tough Skye. Sarah said he is a shadow of himself. He just sits at home staring into space night after night. He barely talks and spends most of his time in his room listening to the most heartbreaking music. She is so worried about him. He needs you Skye. He is heartbroken he loves you so very much. It’s not too late to fix this you know, why don’t you go to him?’

‘What have I done?’ Skye held her hands to her face as tears poured down her cheeks. ‘It’s all right. It will be okay,’ Ros rushed to her and held her awkwardly, her large girth making it hard to hug her. ‘ It will all be fine, you just need to tell him that you still love him,’ she soothed her as Skye continued to sob in the other woman’s arms both of them so engrossed in their conversation they failed to notice a slight commotion going on in the reception area below. Nor did they notice Rod running up the stairs heading towards them. It was not until they heard him calling out that they knew there was something radically wrong and it was too late then to do anything about it. 

‘Get your stinking hands off her,’ he yelled as he looked up to the top of the stairs where Ros was comforting Skye, ‘you filthy dyke.’ The venom from his poisonous words left the two of them paralysed, it was filled with so much hatred, sexism and menace that neither of them could move and they clung to each other for protection. ‘She is mine, get away from her,’ he ranted lunging at Ros in his attempt to tear her away from Skye’s arms but he stumbled in his haste and fell full pelt against Skye sending her flying backwards as she lost her footing and fell into the glass balcony and balustrade, hitting her head as she hit the floor. 

The last thing that Skye remembered as she fell was the scream coming from Ros as she stumbled on the top step and with sickening thuds rolled down the stairway landing near the bottom of the stairs in a mess of twisted arms and legs, Rod standing on the landing looking down at her with a maniacal gloating expression across his face. 

‘The baby,’ Skye whispered with a small sob, ‘the baby,’ then darkness engulfed her and plunged her into the depth of another world knowing nothing more.


	73. Chapter 73

‘Roland Barker?’ the authoritarian voice on the other end of Rolly’s phone enquired, ‘this is St Trinian’s hospital calling. We have you down as a contact for a Miss Skye Mitchell. I am sorry to inform you but she has been involved in an incident and has been bought into us.’ Rolly nearly dropped the phone in shock. ‘What happened? Is she all right? How badly is she hurt? Can I see her?’ Words bubbled up and despite trying to maintain his composure, he was nearly undone by the news. 

The trip to the hospital was a blur of anxiety. A million thoughts ran through his head and none of them good. They had given him very few details merely telling him that she had been bought in by ambulance after some kind of incident at work and that she was unconscious. He had no idea what could have happened and was in a right state by the time he arrived. It wasn’t until he got to the hospital that he wondered why he was down as her contact in case of an accident.

He had pictured her lying there broken and bloodied, her beautiful face unrecognisable, her body shattered and lifeless. Everything imaginable went spinning around in his mind. He had never felt as panicked in his whole life. Even though they were no longer together it made no difference. She was the love of his life and she was hurt. He had to see her, hold her and tell her how much he loved her. 

When he finally made it there and found her room he stopped outside the door for a moment, too scared to go in. They had told him that he could see her but that he would need to talk to the doctor when he made his rounds for further details. Bloody hospitals, everything by the book, why wouldn’t they just tell him that she was okay, that’s all he wanted to hear. That was all that mattered to him right at that moment. His whole world was standing still, his life on a precipice until he knew that she would be all right. 

Silently he walked into the room, fearful of disturbing her. His heart almost stopped when he saw her laying there looking so pale and still. He wanted to rush over the bed and shake her to wake her up but knew that he couldn’t besides, she was not alone. Godfrey was at her bedside holding her hand. ‘What are you doing here?’ was the first thing that sprang to his mind as he walked over to the bed and looked down at Skye, tears springing to his eyes as he gazed at her. 

Outwardly she appeared to be just as she always did, beautiful and peaceful but her stillness frightened him. Apart from what looked to be a bandage on the back of her head there was no physical sign of injury thank god but the fact that she didn’t stir at all when he gently reached over and took her other hand did not bode well for her situation. 

‘Roland I am glad that you are here,’ Godfrey replied. ‘What happened? They haven’t given me any details when they rang and the bloody nurses won’t tell me a thing. And why are you here?’ He looked at Godfrey with suspicion, jealousy getting the better of him too. He was the one that should be with Skye not Godfrey. He was the one that loved her. ‘It happened at work so naturally when I was told I came with her, made sure that she had nothing but the best of care. You wouldn’t expect anything less now would you?’ 

Roland looked at him. ‘No, thanks that’s very decent of you,’ he meant it sincerely, ‘but I still don’t know what happened.’ He sunk down into the chair on the opposite side of the bed to Godfrey and gazed at Skye, his face a mask of pain and worry. Gently he brushed a strand of her hair that had fallen across her face, the tenderness of his action and its obvious affection touched Godfrey. He knew only too well what it was to love someone so deeply and see them so vulnerable at a time of illness. 

‘From what I was told there was an incident involving someone that had come to visit her. The details aren’t clear but from what I gather she was either pushed or she fell and she hit her head. She’s been unconscious ever since. I believe they found your contact details in her handbag and rang you straight away. Even if they hadn’t I would have,’ he told Rolly. ‘There was another woman there too, someone that had come to see Skye and she was involved too. I have been trying to find out the specifics but haven’t gotten too far. I believe she may have been seriously hurt but the hospital won’t tell me anything about her condition. All I know was that she was brought here too and I believe she was rushed into surgery and that’s all I can find out. The police have arrested the man that appears to be the cause of the assault but that’s as far as I know,’ he told him.

‘Look Roland, I don’t know what happened between the two of you,’ he confided delicately, ‘but you would have to be blind not to see that the two of you love each other very much and a love like that comes around only once in a life time.’ ‘Thank you Godfrey, I really mean that. I know that you understand and that you have had your share of ...’ ‘Of heartbreak?’ he mused. ‘Yes, it couldn’t have been easy for you. And I know that you appreciate my situation,’ Rolly replied with some feeling. ‘Then make it right between the two of you Roland. As soon as Skye is well again don’t take no for an answer and fix whatever it was that went wrong. Look I will leave you two alone now. You need to spend some time with her. I am sure that the doctor will be around soon. And don’t worry about any of the medical expenses, she is covered under my company policy, I make sure I look after my staff,’ he advised as he reached the door. ‘Thanks, if I get any news I will let you know,’ Roland nodded to him. 

When finally alone with her he leant over and softly kissed her face. ‘Skye babes,’ he whispered to her, ‘please babes come back to me. I love you so much. I can’t live without you. I just want you to be all right,’ he broke down sobbing; his face nestled into the bed, holding her hand and feeling her soft breathing. She didn’t stir. 

He sat like that for god knows how long until a nurse came to check on her. ‘I need to do some checks on her Mr Barker, there’s a cafeteria down stairs where you can get a coffee or you can wait in the visitors lounge if you prefer. The doctor is running a little late, he’s been in surgery but I am sure that he will be with you as soon as he can.’ She smiled at him kindly, not immune to how distraught he looked. ‘Thanks, I’ll wait in the lounge. Please come and get me if the doctor shows up.’ ‘Not a problem, you can wait just down the hall on the right. Oh and Mr Barker, if it’s any consolation,’ she hesitated knowing it was against hospital rules to disclose too much patient information to relatives but he looked so worried that she caved, ‘when they examined Miss Mitchell they confirmed that the baby is fine so you don’t need to worry on that score.’ 

Roland walked down the corridor in search of the lounge wondering how the hell they could get patients mixed up like that. Baby, who on earth was she talking about he wondered. They must have made a mistake, after all it was common knowledge the shambles the health system was in England and how over worked everyone was. You read about mistakes being made all the time in the papers he thought as he walked in to the patient lounge then was pulled up short for sitting slumped over against the far wall was Lynda, Ros’s girlfriend. 

Despite not being in great shape himself he was instantly at her side. ‘Lynda, what are you doing here? Are you okay? Is Ros all right?’ ‘Roland,’ was all she managed to blurt out between sobs as she wrapped her arms around him for comfort. ‘What is it, what’s happened? Where is Ros?’ A sickening fear gripped him now, one that he didn’t want to give any creed to but the suspicion kept growing within him. ‘Lynda please tell me, where is Ros … is she all right and the baby?’ The baby, his baby … oh god.

‘She went to visit Skye,’ Lynda mumbled between gulps of air as she tried to calm herself. ‘This man came rushing up to her and … I don’t know, he tried to get to Skye or maybe he was trying to get to Lynda, they weren’t sure exactly what happened but…’ her face crumpled, ‘he knocked her and she lost her footing and she…’ Rolly held his breath, bracing himself for what was to come. ‘She fell Roland, she fell down a flight of stairs. She broke her neck. They operated and tried to save the baby but…’ 

‘I am so sorry Roland, the baby died too. It was a little girl,’ Lynda’s body shook in his arms as she cried. He went cold, every part of his body frozen in grief and disbelief.


	74. Chapter 74

It took a mammoth effort of self-control for Rolly to pull himself together. He was grappling with the news when the nurse appeared at his side to tell him that the doctor was with Skye and he could see him now. ‘Will you be all right Lynda, I am so sorry but I have to go. Skye is …’ ‘I know you must be so worried about her, they told me that she had been brought in too. I just don’t understand what the hell happened,’ she shook her head then snapped out of it apologetically. ‘It’s okay I called Ros’s parents and they are one their way. I’ll be alright. You go, you need to see Skye. Ros told me what happened after she caught up with you and told you about the… the baby. That was why she was going to meet with Skye today, she wanted to set things straight with her and explain how things were but now I don’t know if she even had the chance to. Go now, be with her.’ ‘I’ll be back,’ he hugged her again and followed the nurse out of the room. 

‘Mr Barker is it?’ the doctor standing next to Skye’s bed reading a chart extended his hand as Rolly approached, ‘Doctor Mark Ellis. I am treating Miss Mitchell.’ ‘Is she going to be all right? How bad are her injuries?’ Rolly asked anxiously. ‘Miss Mitchell has a concussion, she has a haematoma to the back of her head but luckily for her there are no compressed fractures and minimal signs of swelling or bleeding. Right now she needs rest and close monitoring. The next twenty four hours after a concussion are critical but as far as we can tell she will be fine and it’s just a matter of time till she regains consciousness and we can do further testing to see if there are any complications.’ 

Rolly nodded, relieved that there was not worse news but still scared of what the next day or days would bring. ‘We are monitoring the baby but all seems fine in that department, no damage done and no major trauma. The body can be an amazingly resilient thing when it comes to new mums protecting the unborn.’ 

Rolly looked at him blankly. He had had one shock after another and just wasn’t taking things in. Dr Ellis took in the bewildered look and jumped to conclusions. ‘You didn’t know that she is pregnant?’ he asked. Rolly was stunned. He shook his head, ‘No she… she didn’t tell me. We were engaged but then…’ his voice trailed off. ‘She’s four months pregnant and apart from the obvious injury she sustained today, she is in perfectly good health and so is the baby. She could do with putting on a little more weight but that will come with some care. I am only telling you this because we found you were the contact she had listed otherwise I wouldn’t be disclosing this kind of information. May I ask, is it yours? I am assuming that I am right?’

Four months, he did the maths, not making the same mistake that he had made with Ros. He knew exactly what had happened four months ago. It must have been when they first went to bed together. His mind cast back to the night he had dropped her off after they had gone away for the first time and her odd behaviour when she ran up the stairs to her bed room and left him standing on the door step talking to her mum. He remembered how quiet she had been at dinner that night and how he had put it down to being tired but thinking about it now, he wondered if she had been worried.

He knew that she was on the pill, he remembered seeing them in her hand bag the next weekend. He’d made fun of her after she’d dropped her handbag and everything had spilt out in her hurry to jump him the minute they got in on the Friday night but on thinking about it now, he didn’t remember seeing her take them that first weekend. 

She hadn’t had a period since they were together but she had told him, rather embarrassed at the time when an advertisement for panty liners had come on TV one night that she had never been regular in that department so it was no big deal. In his naivety he hadn’t even thought to question her, trusting her to take care of contraception. Not that he hadn’t mentioned it that is, but she had merely smirked at his mention of using condoms insisting that she had it all under control and that anyway she liked him totally in the buff if he got her meaning. 

He remembered too how she had glowed when talking of having children, his children, when they were down at the cottage. She must have known then or at least suspected but kept quiet about it but then of course they had split up. How gutted she must have felt when she saw those pictures of him with Ros, how totally and utterly bereft. He could understand how betrayed she must have felt when she was carrying his child and confronted with what could only look like a betrayal of unspeakable proportion. God no wonder she didn’t hang around to listen to any explanation he had to offer. ‘Yes, it’s mine,’ he replied quietly.

He looked away from the doctor and ran his eyes down Skye’s body. Even though she was covered with a sheet he hadn’t seen her for a month now and he could see the subtle difference in her body. To anyone else she might have looked like she’d just put on a few pounds but to him she looked different. He could see her breasts were fuller and her waist thickened. Her face was a little fuller too although he did notice that she looked tired. 

‘Is it alright if I stay with her, talk to her?’ he asked as the doctor hung up her chart and moved to the door. ‘Certainly, we recommend it to family members. I will let the staff know that you will be staying. As long as you don’t get in their way when they come to do their checks that will be fine. I will be back tomorrow and see you then. And Mr Barker, I should mention that the police may need to talk to you.’ ‘The police?’ ‘Yes it appears that the man in question, the cause of the altercation, he has been arrested and been charged with assault and various other matters as well as murder seeing he was the cause of not one but two deaths its seems.’ Rolly winced. ‘I am sure they will want to talk to you. I believe from what they said he was known to you.’

At any other time in his life this news would have had him pondering who the hell he knew would want to hurt both Skye and Ros but the moment that the doctor left all he could think about was holding Skye’s hand and talking to her. He was sitting there quietly one hand in hers and the other gently cradling the tiny mound of her belly when there was a soft knock on the door and Joan and Jon appeared with Paul and Jen behind them. 

Rolly looked up and saw their faces staring at him. ‘What are you doing here?’ Jon asked abruptly, ‘you are not wanted.’ ‘Now then father,’ Joan interceded, ‘can’t you see the boy is just as cut up as we are, more so if you ask me.’ ‘He’s got no right to be here after what he put our girl through. If it hadn’t have been for him this would never have happened.’ ‘You don’t know that, it could have been anyone so quiet, Skye needs peace and quiet not this kind of talk,’ she admonished. ‘And besides, he has his own loss to deal with if what the police are saying is true. There is a detective out in the lounge speaking to…’ she hesitated as she hadn’t caught the name of the woman they had been speaking with after they had a brief interview with herself and Jon. ‘Lynda, Ros’s partner is Lynda,’ Rolly spoke for the first time since Skye’s family had entered the room. 

Joan looked at him and suddenly thought that she understood something that had been puzzling her. ‘Yes, Ros’s partner Lynda was answering some questions but I believe that they want to talk to you too. Ros’s family had just arrived so I think they were going to give her some time with them so they are free if you want to go and have a word with them. We will stay here with Skye.’ ‘She belongs with her family,’ Jon interrupted, ‘not him.’ Joan’s eyes searched Rolly’s face and saw that he recognized the justice in this last remark but she also saw the pain in his eyes and noticed how gaunt he looked. The last month had not been kind to him, he had a haunted look about him now, something was missing and she had to admit to herself that more than likely it was the same thing that was missing from Skye now. 

‘We will stay with her,’ she said again. ‘Thank you,’ Rolly said as he got up and gently let go of Skye’s hand. ‘Could you … could you let me know if there is any change, come and get me?’ he asked, unsure of his position with them. It was obvious that they were not aware of Skye being pregnant and just as obvious that right at that moment he wasn’t exactly feeling welcomed into the fold and he could hardly blame them he thought but they didn’t know the full story. If only he could tell them and if only he could tell Skye but right now that was impossible.

When he got to the door he turned and looked at them all huddled around the bed lovingly grouped together in support at this time of crisis just as a family should be. Family, they would have been his family too if only things had not turned out the way they had but right now, despite the fact that she was carrying his child and the future should have been one of him starting his own family with the love of his life, right now at this very moment, he had never felt so alone and never felt that he had no future what so ever.


	75. Chapter 75

‘I’d like to ask you a few questions if you don’t mind,’ the detective sat down opposite Rolly in the cafeteria and pushed a cup of coffee towards him. He felt sorry for him, it was clear that he looked all done in over this business, who wouldn’t when you thought about it. From what he understood from his preliminary questioning when he was upstairs and found Rolly in the family lounge with the family of the victim and her girlfriend, he’d ascertained that this wasn’t the first incident involving the perpetrator. When it was obvious that it was too much for Roland to handle with the family present he had bought him down here to the cafeteria where it was reasonably deserted, it being after hours and only having a few staff around to service the doctors and nursing staff changing their shifts and wanting a quick bite to eat or to grab a tea or coffee on their breaks. 

‘Get that into you. You have had more than one shock today. My condolences for you losses, it must have come as a shock to you, if there is anything that I or my staff can do please don’t hesitate to ask for assistance.’ Detective Reese had been in the job for almost twenty years but there were times that it did get to him and this was one of those times. Here was a bloke that had everything, good looks, success and money but he knew that it didn’t matter. One single twist of fate could change a person’s life and totally screw it up. Just one single act of stupidity and your whole world could fall apart he sat thinking as he looked at Rolly, giving him time to sip on the brew in front of him. 

‘Better?’ he asked. ‘Yes, thanks I needed it. It’s been a … a long day.’ ‘Do you feel up to answering a few questions?’ Rolly nodded. ‘All right then, I just need to get a few things clear. You and Miss Mitchell worked together and formed a relationship?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘You had been in a long term relationship with Ros Sharp but you broke it off when you met Miss Mitchell?’ ‘She broke it off, she had been planning to for quite some time and it was purely coincidental that it happened when it did,’ Rolly contradicted him. The detective eyebrows raised a little but he made no comment. He had already met Lynda and he was broad-minded enough not to judge. In his job he just couldn’t afford to and it had taught him that one thing in life was a sure thing – expect the unexpected.

He scratched his nose and went on. ‘And this Rod Floyd, prior to your relationship, had been Miss Mitchell’s boyfriend?’ ‘Well Skye never really thought of it like that. It was more of just a friendship but Rod wanted more than that.’ ‘Okay,’ he scribbled unrequited love hastily in his note then went on. ‘So there had been an incident at a pub I believe where he got a bit rough with her, is that correct?’ ‘Yes it was just after we met. I wasn’t there but she told me about it and she was bruised on her arm where he had grabbed her when she made it clear to him that she didn’t want anything more serious.’ ‘I see. It was after this that there was a confrontation between the two of them to which you were present, it took place …’ he flicked through some notes, ‘outside her home one night. He attempted to drag her out of your car I believe but you intervened?’ ‘Yes, that’s right,’ Rolly confirmed thinking back to that night when he had thumped Rod. He wished to god he had rung his neck now but it was too late for that. 

‘To your knowledge, after that night there had been no further contact between Miss Mitchell and Rod Floyd until the night she received an anonymous email with what may have been construed as incriminating pictures of yourself and Ros Sharp?’ ‘What? What do you mean? Are you saying that it was Rod that sent that bloody email?’ he asked in disbelief, ‘how, he wouldn’t have Ros’s email address. She had her work phone with her that night, only people at work and her friends and family had that email address.’ ‘He has made a full confession; including admitting that he wasn’t acting entirely alone in the matter,’ the detective advised him. 

Rolly was shaken. Who the hell would want anything to do with that low life Rod? Who would want to hurt Skye or even himself for that matter enough to conspire with that piece of shit? Who could be so vindictive? He looked helplessly at the detective appalled by what he had just learnt. ‘It seems he was in cohorts with an employee of yours, one Miss Sylvia De Palma. I should add we have questioned her and it seems she is totally horrified by what has happened. She went to pieces when she was brought into the station and gave her own account of the dealings she had with him. Seems that she had suspected that he wasn’t the full two quid but never realized quite how very dangerous he was. She’s under sedation now, had a complete breakdown over it when she found out the full story.’

‘Do you want me to stop?’ he asked Rolly, he didn’t know how much more the poor guy could take. He was white and shaking and looked like he needed more than a cup of coffee, he needed a stiff drink. ‘No, go on I want to get this over with. I just want this done with so I can get back to Skye.’ ‘It seems that their intent was to break the two of you up and when that succeeded they would leave you alone but apparently earlier today they had a meeting and after a conversation in which Miss Sharp informed him there was a possibility of a new suitor for Miss Mitchell’s affections, he was so enraged that he went to her place of business and upon seeing Miss Sharp comforting Miss Mitchell, he attempted to attack them with the aim of breaking them apart. He has stated that it wasn’t his intent to cause any bodily harm to Miss Mitchell, that he just couldn’t bear to see her…’ he flicked back to more notes and quoted them, “being pawed at by that bitch” and that was when Miss Mitchell slipped and fell hitting her head and Miss Sharp fell down the stairs.’

‘You said that he couldn’t stand Skye being pawed at by Lynda? What did he mean?’ Rolly asked. ‘He clarified that statement by saying that when he got to the top of the stairs he saw the two of them hugging and he thought that he heard,’ more flicking through notes again, ‘he thought that he heard Miss Sharp say “it will be alright, just tell him that you love him” or something like that. It seems that was enough to trigger him into an even deeper rage and attack the two of them. We couldn’t get much else out of him at that point as he had to be restrained by two of my constables. Just talking about seeing Miss Mitchell and the mention of your name resulted in him becoming highly agitated. I should advise you that he is undergoing psychiatric evaluation and that the results could have a bearing on whether he will be deemed to be fit to be sent to trial.’

By that time it was very late and they were the only ones left in the room. The hardened detective  
took pity on Rolly and thought the better of any further questioning at this point; he had all he could take for one day he surmised. 

‘Why don’t you try to get some rest,’ Reese suggested, ‘you look exhausted. If there is anything further I have your contact details and will be in touch.’ Rolly thanked him before going back upstairs. Lynda had been taken home by Ros’s family and would be taken care of. That was one less thing to worry about. He would face what arrangements that would need to be made tomorrow; he had a daughter to bury. He had made up his mind that for the moment he was going to sit with Skye and nothing would get in his way, that was all that he wanted and needed to do. 

The nurse on the ward confirmed that there had been no change in Skye’s condition when he got up to the floor her room was on and she also mentioned that the family had gone home to get some rest and get a few things that Skye may need in the morning should she regain consciousness so it was perfectly alright for him to stay in the room with Skye. Slipping quietly back to her bed side he took her hand and sank his head on the bed, fatigue and sorrow finally overwhelming him, and he wept. 

He stayed like that all night, crying for Ros, his unborn child and for the fragile angel at his side laying so very still in the bed next to him, and for their child. He cried for all the mistakes he had made throughout his life, the biggest one being that he had been the cause of so very much grief, and he cried because he was scared. It didn’t matter what the doctor had said, in his grief and exhausted state hope deserted him and he cried for the loss of his one true love. 

It was the longest night of his life sitting there in that room, the stillness of the hospital with its eerie hushed slumber engulfing him and creating invisible phantoms of doubt. Panic shot through him on more than one occasion when he thought her breath to have slowed or worse, stopped. He stared at her chest for hours watching the rise and fall, alternating with his attempt to make sense of the red and green coloured lines on the monitor Skye was hooked up to. During the day the place had been hot, stiflingly and stuffy with not a breath of air circulating but now in the dead of the night there was a chill, or was it merely he was chilled by all the terrors he had been through, real or imagined, or those that may come. 

They say that the worst time comes in the dead of the night at around three in the morning, which is the hour that most workers doing night shift find the hardest and Rolly was no different. In spite of himself he had been overtaken by exhaustion and had given in to closing his eyes, just for a moment he told himself. It was then that he thought that he heard Skye calling him. ‘Rolly … Rolly. No…no get away from me’

He was awake immediately. ‘I’m here, darling I am here,’ he wanted to assure her but her eyes were closed and there was no movement and her words had filled him with dread. Did he dream it? He didn’t know but it reduced him to the lowest point of his weary life. 

At that moment he had what was perhaps an epiphany of sorts, a vision of sheer clarity. He made up his mind and nothing was going to stop him. There was nothing to stop him… he had nothing left.


	76. Chapter 76

Skye fell in to a darkness that she could find no end to, no matter how hard she tried. The world had turned into pit of dim obscurity. She didn’t know where she was, she thought that she was in a room but couldn’t find the door and there were no windows. She wondered why everything seemed so grey but she couldn’t think about it, her head hurt too much and she was aching in every part of her body. 

A blinding light flashed in her eyes and then it was gone again and she was left struggling in the soupy fog. The air was thick and hot and she was thirsty but there was nothing to drink. Make the pain in her head stop. Please someone help make it stop. 

‘Skye babes, come back to me,’ she heard a whispered voice but there was no one there. ‘Rolly… Rolly!’ Why couldn’t she find him? There was something that she needed to tell him but she couldn’t remember. She knew it was important but her head was hurting her so much she couldn’t think. 

The light… the light shining in her eyes again. Please make it stop. 

‘I can’t live without you. Skye darling come back to me.’ Where are you, oh Rolly where are you I want you so much, I love you so much. I have to tell you… She couldn’t remember what she needed to tell him. Why wasn’t he there, where was he? Why was there no one there? 

She couldn’t see clearly through all the gloom. Why was it so dark? She didn’t understand. 

‘I just want you to be all right…’ ‘Rolly? Rolly…’ If her head would only stop hurting she would be able to think then she could figure out a way to get out of this place. She thought there was a door in the corner, if only she could get to it she thought that she would find Rolly there and she would be safe but her legs were like straws and every step she attempted to take was like wading through thick treacle. Her head spun with every movement and made her giddy until the room began to swirl around in her aching head. Why was her head hurting so much? 

A shadow of deeper darkness came towards her and she shivered. Rolly? Her lips were moving but no sound came out then she felt it, a slight quickening within her. 

The baby, the baby had moved. She loved the baby. 

The shadow grew closer and took shape. Rolly… But it wasn’t Rolly and suddenly she was scared. Something was trying to take the baby. 

Get away from me she screamed silently. 

Darkness, she was sinking into darkness and it was taking her far away from the one thing that gave her life the light and love and that made her world filled with sunshine. It was her night of ebony filled delusions from which she drank too deeply to flee. 

In the cold light of dawn Rolly opened the blinds and looked out across the city. The street lights looked like pale and insipid blobs of insignificance in the apricot hues of the coming day. He stood for a moment gazing out across the scene, seeing but not seeing, then he turned and for a moment he caught the light bathing Skye’s face with a glow, her pallor warming with a radiance that cast his mind back to that dawn so long ago when he had first told her so tentatively that he was falling in love with her. A tear trickled down his face at the thought of how heartbreakingly scared he had been of rejection and now, now he had faced the final rejection and in that cold dawn light, in that miserable hospital room, he said goodbye and let her go. 

Bending down over the bed he kissed her soft lips, memorising the way they felt. ‘I love you Skye. I always will.’ He traced his finger over her cheek marvelling at the softness of her skin as he always did when he touched her. ‘Try to remember that one day babes, and tell the baby how much I wanted it even if you don’t even know that yourself,’ he whispered to her. ‘You are the love of my life, my every dream come true. The very reason for me living and… I love you for just being you and I always will.’ 

His hand cupped her belly over the small mound as he stood with his eyes closed, willing the baby to remember his touch and the endless love he felt for it. ‘Be strong for your Mummy. Be the person that I couldn’t be for her,’ he choked when he bent down and kissed it. 

Then he was gone. 

‘Rolly… Rolly I love you,’ Skye’s voice whispered croakily as her eyes fluttered open. She tried to focus but everything was blurry. She tried again and this time she could see a little clearer now. She was in a room and there was a beautiful golden light shining in, warming her heart after the darkness she had been swimming through endlessly. ‘Rolly,’ she called out, her voice a little stronger now as she looked around her surroundings and tried to sit up a little but every tiny movement was an agony of pain shooting through her head and her voice sounded like a thousand trumpets blasting through her ears. 

At the deafening sound of her own voice she scrunched her eyes up and went to rub her head and that was when she noticed the cannula taped to her arm and the bandage on the back of her skull. Hospital, she must be in hospital but why. Oh god no, not the baby, she hadn’t lost the baby she thought frantically. She moved her hands down her body so scared that the little bump would be gone but relief poured through her when she ran her fingers gently over her belly and found the now familiar swelling exactly where it should be. 

As if in response to her anxiety she felt a slight movement, not much – no more than a feathery tickle but enough to send her into paragons of delight and relief. It moved, the baby moved. Tears of joy sprang to her eyes, it was the first time in her waking pregnancy that she had felt it happen for certain and she was deliriously happy. She lay there for a few more moments luxuriating in the happiness that she was feeling until an even greater need made its presence felt. She realised she desperately needed to go to the loo. 

Gingerly looking around, trying not to make too many movements that would hurt her aching head, she caught a glimpse of what looked like a buzzer hanging from a hook on the side of the bedside cabinet and she pressed it. Nothing happened for a couple of minutes and she was just about to press it again when a nurse appeared in the room. ‘Miss Mitchell, you are awake. How are you feeling?’ ‘I need to pee,’ Skye blurted out with a giggle. ‘Stay right there, I’ll get you a bed pan,’ and she darted into the en-suite to the side of the room Godfrey had arranged. He had certainly spared no expense when it came to hospital coverage. ‘It’s okay, I can walk,’ Skye called out. ‘No, stay in bed please, we need to check you out before you get up,’ the nurses muffled voice called back to her. ‘Well okay if you say so.’ ‘I most definitely do, my name is Iris by the way. We need to give you a good going over before you can even think of getting out of bed.’ 

Iris handed her the bed pan and went over to close the door saying over her shoulder, ‘Give me a buzz when you have finished and please,’ she emphasized, ‘don’t attempt to get up yet.’ When Iris returned she under took some routine tests. ‘How are you feeling?’ she asked as she checked her drip, wrote down figures on her chart and shone one of those pencil torches that they seemed to carry around into her eyes. ‘Apart from a splitting headache and my head feeling sore from where I think I must have cut it, I feel pretty good actually.’ ‘Do you remember what happened?’ 

As stupid as it may sound Skye hadn’t really given it a thought until that moment, she had been too happy feeling the baby move properly for what was really the first time and because she had been busting to go to the loo she hadn’t given it a thought to be honest. ‘I …,’ her face clouded over as things started to come back to her. She suddenly remembered Rod’s face, the mad look of disgust distorting it into something horrid. She heard the sickening thud of Ros as she fell down the stairs and landed at the bottom and she felt the breathless jolt as the wind was knocked out of her when she fell, followed by the dreadful searing pain shooting through her head when it hit the railing or the floor, she didn’t know which. Iris registered the look of distress on Skye’s face. 

‘Yes, I remember. Please can you tell me if Ros is all right, I really need to know? And… before I rang for you was Rolly… I mean was there someone here in my room?’ she asked hopefully. ‘I thought that there was someone here talking to me. I was in some terrible place but I thought that I heard a voice talking to me and … look I know this is silly but I thought that I heard him talking to the baby.’ 

‘Do you mean Mr Barker? It’s odd that you should say that as only moments before you buzzed me he left. I had been past your room just a bit before that and I noticed that he had opened the blind and then when I was coming back to the nurse’s station I saw him leave. That must have been only a couple of minutes before you buzzed me. I can put a call out to see if he’s still here, he may have just gone down to the café for a brew. He’s been here all night and hasn’t left your side. He was here as soon as we contacted him and apart from when your family came and he was interviewed by the police, he hasn’t left your side at all,’ she remarked adding, ‘he looked quite exhausted and despite the doctor telling him you should be fine I have never seen anyone look so worried in my life.’ 

Skye was right… she had heard him. She had heard his hushed voice whispering to the baby “Be the person that I couldn’t be for her” but Rolly, you are the person that I want, you are the love of mine and our baby’s life, and it was him that had pulled her out of that dark place and back to the light.

You are everything to me.


	77. Chapter 77

Iris straightened up Skye’s sheets and fluffed her pillow while continuing to talk. ‘As for Miss Sharp’s condition,’ she saying, ‘I am sorry but I think that it would be best if you talked to the doctor. He will be making his rounds about ten this morning and he will be able to give you some more information,’ she said rather diplomatically, ‘now would you like me to see if I can find Mr Barker for you?’ ‘Yes, please. I need to talk to him. I need to tell him something urgently.’

I need to tell him several things urgently she thought to herself. ‘Okay I will see what I can do and I will get you some pain medication for your headache too. I think we can get you off that drip and make you a bit more comfortable. Won’t be a moment,’ she smiled. ‘Thank you.’ ‘Now you just rest and I will be back as soon as I hear something.’ 

Iris returned ten minutes later with some tablets and water which Skye drank greedily. Her mouth was dry as saw dust and she felt all the better for the drink. ‘It shouldn’t take too long before the medication kicks in,’ Iris told her, ‘and I paged Mr Barker but there was no response so I rang his mobile but it’s switched off. He doesn’t appear to be contactable at the moment. ‘That’s okay, he will come back I am sure of it,’ Skye replied with confidence, ‘and thank you.’ 

But Rolly didn’t come back. 

Later that morning the doctor examined Skye and decided to keep her in the hospital for a few more nights just to make sure she was stable but he assured both her and her parents when they arrived in the middle of his examination that she was perfectly fine and there appeared to be no lasting damage. When she asked him about Ros her parents interceded agreeing with the doctor that they would break the news to her on the proviso that she didn’t get overly upset and that she was to get plenty of rest. 

‘It’s my fault, if it hadn’t been for me Ros and the baby would still be alive. If she hadn’t come to see me then she would never have had anything to do with Rod.’ ‘That’s not true Skye, Rod was the one that took those photos according to what that detective said. He was unhinged. No one can blame you for this,’ Joan reasoned, ‘just as they can’t blame Roland,’ she added, glaring at her husband. ‘Oh god, my poor Rolly, I have to see him. I have to tell him … I have to talk to him.’ 

The day passed by with waiting for him to come but he didn’t. She tried to think why he wasn’t there, why he hadn’t come back then around tea time she thought how insensitive she had been, he’d probably be helping to make arrangements for Ros’s funeral and for… for the baby. Oh god, how terrible it must be for him, to lose the baby – your own child. She cradled her belly under the sheets softly patting the swelling flesh protectively. 

She remembered the dream, night mare more like it, that she had when she was unconscious and how she had thought someone was trying to take the baby. She rationalized that it was her subconscious dealing with the threat from Rod and it seemed to make sense to her now whereas at the time it had been a horrific experience but then she remembered too it was the sound of Rolly’s whispered voice that was with her throughout it all that she had been drawn to the most. She wanted to tell him, to have his arms around her, to love him and ask for his forgiveness for not trusting him, more than anything she just wanted him with her.

When the night came and he didn’t, she was okay with that. He must be exhausted by now. He was probably with Ros’s parents and then trying to get some rest. Yes, that must be it. She wondered if she should go to the funeral. She didn’t know Ros but her kindness to her and the way that she had wanted to protect her when Rod… she couldn’t think of it, for her own baby’s sake she had to stay calm or she would dissolve into a mess. She wanted to be there to support Rolly though, he deserved it. She would tell him when he showed up. They had so much to talk about she sighed. 

The funeral for Ros and the baby took place two days later. Skye only found out through Pat who had rung her after her release from hospital. She told her that Nigel had gone but no one else from work had as it was a very private matter and the only reason that Nigel had told her was because he had to cover his absence and make sure his calls were diverted to her. He didn’t give her any other details and of course she hadn’t seen Roland. He hadn’t been back to work since Monday afternoon when he had been called to the hospital. 

The news came as a shock to Skye. She hadn’t heard a word from Rolly and didn’t understand it at all and now this. She tried hard to rationalize things in her own mind. Perhaps it was understandable after the way that she had reacted when she saw the photos. Maybe he thought that she still didn’t want to see him but if that was the case why did he come to the hospital at all? Why hadn’t he at least rung her since he had been home? She told herself that she was being totally selfish as he had just lost not only his child but also someone he had shared his life with and known for years regardless of the circumstances. He would be in mourning and with a lot of arrangements to make. Plus he would want her to rest. Yes, that would be why, now the funeral was over he would show up. He had to. 

After asking how Skye was and telling her how much she missed her, the only other piece of news that Pat told her was that Sylvia was on extended sick leave due to her breakdown after what had happened. ‘What do you mean after what had happened?’ Skye had asked. ‘Well because of her involvement with Rod,’ Pat replied surprised by Skye’s question. ‘What are you talking about?’ Skye had asked unaware of her involvement. 

Skye was confused, she thought that she must have miss heard her. ‘Don’t you know?’ Pat asked incredulously. ‘Know what?’ Skye asked impatiently now, trying to fathom what she was on about. ‘Skye I am so sorry, I thought you knew. I thought that they would have told you.’ Pat went on to explain Sylvia’s relationship with Rod, most of which she had learnt when Detective Reese had interviewed all of those who had been at the pub the night that Rod had hurt Skye. He was building the prosecution case against him but had warned that it would more than likely be futile owing to Rod’s psychiatric condition. 

‘She has gone totally to pieces and is under a doctor’s care,’ she went on, ‘they are on suicide watch. I always knew she was a snake but I never would have thought that she could stoop so low. She told the police that she had no idea that Rod would take it as far as he did but that the last time she saw him there was something about him that scared her a little. She said that she had been goading him, teasing him that he had another rival for your affections… that Godfrey was after you and that he, Rod, didn’t have a leg to stand on. She urged him to get a move of or he would miss out entirely and that’s why he showed up that day at your work. She’s the one that gave him your address,’ Pat sighed, ‘she’s got a lot to answer for and she knows it, big time.’ 

‘Oh my god,’ Skye was shocked. There had always been an issue between Sylvia and herself, long before Rolly was even on the scene but to do this? She couldn’t imagine the kind of hatred that one person could feel for another that would give anyone cause to stoop so very low. In a way she felt sorry for her but still, she had been part of Ros and the baby’s demise whether she wanted to be or not and that would taint her for the rest of her life, and all for what she wondered sadly. 

The whole sordid drama made her sad really, she had been trying to stay positive for the baby’s sake but as the week went by and she hadn’t heard from Rolly she began to worry. Physically she felt fine. Even her head had stopped hurting and apart from where she had a massive lump and a cut to her scalp, she had no other lasting effects thank god but emotionally she was not in as good a shape. 

She had spoken to Pat on Thursday night, the funerals had taken place earlier that day and when Friday night came and still there had been nothing from Rolly, she sat in her room and debated what she should do. ‘Are you alright love?’ her mum asked as she popped her head around the door when she came up to check on her. ‘Yes mum,’ she had said stoically but Joan was no fool and knew her daughter better than that. ‘What is it, are you feeling poorly?’ she asked her concerned for her. ‘No, really I feel fine it’s just that…’ her voice trailed off. Her mum looked at her. ‘You’re pregnant and Roland is the father and he hasn’t called,’ she said gently. 

She nodded and burst into tears. ‘Did they tell you at the hospital?’ she managed to get out. ‘That you were pregnant? No, don’t you think that I know you better than that. I have known for a while. Probably since that night you went rushing up the stairs that day he bought you back after you spent the first weekend away with him.’ Skye turned bright red. ‘You didn’t have them with you that first weekend did you, you pill did you?’ Skye’s mouth dropped open. ‘It’s all right I wasn’t spying on you I just happened to go into your room to put some washing away for you and accidently knocked them off you dressing table when I was putting things away.’

‘Call it a mother’s sixth sense if you will but you have been glowing ever since that weekend even if you didn’t know it.’ She patted her hand. ‘Skye darling, I don’t want to interfere and normally I wouldn’t but it is so painfully obvious, you both love each other so very much. I don’t know what came between the two of you although I have a fair idea, and I don’t want the details but whatever it was I can tell you one thing,’ she paused, ‘I have never seen anyone so destroyed as he was at the hospital. He looked like he belonged there and not you. I don’t think that I have ever seen anyone as very much in love as he is with you either and I think that you feel the same way.’ 

‘Then why hasn’t he called or been to see me,’ she sobbed quietly. ‘That I can’t tell you, only he can answer that. I would imagine that he has had a lot to think about, he’s lost his first child Skye and that must have been such a trauma in itself let alone Ros passing and you being ill. Yes, he’s had a lot to deal with on top of finding out that you were pregnant too. Think about it dear, but don’t leave it too long. I think right now he needs you just as much as both of you,’ she patted Skye’s belly tenderly, ‘as both of you do. Call him.’ 

She left the room saying good night as she did and she left Skye with a lot to think about. 

Skye looked at her clock and realized it was later than she thought. Okay baby, she said patting her stomach, first thing tomorrow we are going to call your Daddy, you are going to meet your Daddy properly for the first time and as if in response to her words she felt a little stir. That’s right baby, you are going to meet him properly and you are going to love him just as much as I do. 

She fell asleep with a smile on her face cradling herself in a cocoon of anticipated happiness.


	78. Chapter 78

After saying his final silent goodbye to Skye in the hospital room, Rolly went home. He was bone tired and even though he had no intention to, he fell asleep on the couch for a few hours. Sarah found him there when she got up. ‘I am so sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up,’ she apologized when he stirred at the sound of the kettle whistling. He looked like shit she thought to herself. ‘How are Skye and Ros, is there any news?’ 

He looked at her with the saddest of looks she had ever seen. ‘Ros and the baby died Sarah,’ he said flatly. He had texted her from the hospital the night before to tell her he wouldn’t be home and to explain why but hadn’t had the heart to tell her about Ros or the baby, then he had turned his phone off while he kept vigil over Skye. He hadn’t turned it back on yet so he hadn’t seen the texts that Sarah had been frantically sending him. ‘Oh my god Roland I am so very sorry. And Skye, how is she, is she any better.’ He shook his head. ‘She was just the same when I left her.’ 

Sarah sat down next to him and hugged him. They sat there in silence. Finally she snapped out of it. ‘I am going to make you some breakfast and you are going to eat every bite of it and I am not taking no for an answer. You haven’t eaten properly in weeks and it’s not going to help Skye if you get sick. Then I am going to help you sort out what needs to be done about arrangements. I am not going to let you be alone through this. You have always been here for me and taken the burden of things, this is my time to grow up and look after you.’ 

He didn’t bother to protest, he was over doing that and to be honest he didn’t really care all that much. It wasn’t that he wasn’t grateful, he was, he was touched to the core but as long as he could get through the next few days and do what he had to do, that was all that mattered. After that nothing would matter at all to him any more. 

She stood up and he looked up at her. When had she grown into such a beautiful young woman, he thought with a surge of brotherly pride? He reached out and took her hand and gave it a squeeze. ‘You don’t have to you know,’ he said gratefully and he did mean it, ‘I am capable of doing this. Don’t worry I am okay really.’ ‘I know you are but I want to. Everyone needs someone to be there for them sometimes and I want to be here for you. God knows how many times you were there for me when things were really bad with Father. You haven’t had it easy Roland and I know that. You were always the one that took the brunt of everything that he did to us. You protected Mum and I from him and went through hell. I know that and I know that you were only with Ros because of him really. You have sacrificed so much for us and because of him.’ 

His eyes opened wide. ‘How did you know…’ She interrupted. ‘I think that it was my fault that Ros went to see Skye,’ she blurted out guiltily, ‘you see I had been so worried about you that I rang her and we met for a coffee. She was surprised when I called her but she thought that you must have told me that … that I was going to be an Aunty,’ her mouth quivered and she swallowed. ‘And then when we met up and we talked, well she told me things that I never knew. Roland I had no idea how very hard it must have been on you over the last couple of years. She was brutally honest and extremely upset about you and Skye breaking up. Of course I didn’t know about the reason but well, we both felt that somehow it had something to do with her pregnancy.’ A tear trickled down her face and she wiped her nose hastily on a crumpled tissue she fished out of her pocket. 

He looked at her and debated whether he should tell her what had happened then made up his mind. After all what was the point of keeping quiet, it was only a matter of time before she would find out anyway. She sat down on the floor in front of him as he told her everything. All the things that he should have told Skye but didn’t. A life time of regrets and circumstances that had shaped the man that he was today came pouring out of him. Normally he would never have discussed anything as private, he was her big brother and considered that it wasn’t really the right thing to do but now things were so very different. He shrugged inwardly, this might be the last chance they ever have of talking one on one and if that was the case then he wanted to be totally frank with her and stuff conventions or niceties. 

She was quiet for a few moments taking everything in then she leaned up to him and embraced him in a bear hug. ‘Have I ever told you how much I love you, how right from as far back as I can remember you have been, and always will be, my hero?’ He shook his head. ‘I know that you did things that you didn’t want to do just to keep Father from taking things out on mum and me. I know how soul destroying that must have been for you not being able to live the life, and do the things, that you really wanted to do and all to keep him happy. You can’t imagine how much I loved you for doing it but how much it hurt me for your sake and I didn’t even now the half of it.’

‘I can’t believe he said that to Skye when you were at the cottage. He is such a prick, way to go Roland, Ros told me about the conversation she had with him and how Mum went nuts at him too. That never would have happened if you hadn’t met Skye would it? You love her so much don’t you?’ ‘Yes, she is my world Sarah,’ he mutely responded. ‘Poor Skye, she is going to be okay isn’t she and … the baby will be ok won’t it?’ ‘I don’t know.’ 

She looked at him studying his face. There was something wrong, something more than Skye being ill and more than all the other terrible events that had happened in the last few days. What it was she couldn’t put her finger on but it scared her. ‘It’s going to be all right you know,’ she tried to sound positive, ‘Skye will be okay and the baby will be okay and you can sort things out and then… then you can get married and it will all be wonderful … and Dad can go to hell,’ she tried to reassure him.

He looked at her face and how worried she looked and felt guilty. ‘Yes, sure. Now how about that breakfast you talked about or at least a brew? Then I need to make some calls and you need to get to work, you are going to be so late.’ He saw the look of relief on her face and was himself relieved. It wasn’t fair of him to put such a burden on her, she didn’t deserve it so he promised himself that he would at least give her what she wanted to hear and put on a brave face. It was far from what he was feeling but he kept telling himself that it wouldn’t be for much longer, just a few more days. 

Rolly spent the rest of the day making phone calls and all the arrangements that he thought necessary. In his mind he ticked off everything on his long list of things that needed taking care of and hoped that he hadn’t forgotten anything. The hardest of all calls had been to Ros’s parents and to Lynda regarding the funeral arrangements. They had asked that she be buried with the baby if that was possible and acquiescing to their sensibilities, he immediately agreed. As he had promised to Ros the birth certificate had him registered as the father, as did the death certificate. Lynda had asked if the name on both could be the one that she and Ros had decided on months ago and he nearly burst into tears when she told him that they had wanted to call the baby Rolanda if it was a girl, after her father. 

It was a cold rainy day with drizzle falling miserably over the large crowd assembled to bid farewell to Ros and Rolanda. Roland stood apart from the other family members, Ros’s parents with Lynda and his mother and Sarah huddled together under umbrellas, a black blur of mourning in the grey trickling light. What was the old Victorian saying about it raining on the day of a funeral he randomly thought as he stood there shivering, something about God and tears and going to heaven. He couldn’t remember and it didn’t really matter anyway. He didn’t believe in a conventional God, or church or anything much else now. It wasn’t really important in the scheme of things or the place that he was at with his life right at that moment. Perhaps it never had been, he just had never thought about it much before. He shivered again, even the heavy woollen top coat he was wearing couldn’t keep out the cold chill that had descended on his heart. 

The wake turned into a celebration of Ros’s all too short life. Rolly said all the right things, making an effort to appear to be appropriately touched by all the kindness and concern shown to him and in general sleep walked his way through a suitable length of time he deemed would be socially acceptable to be present. When finally he was able to get away, he returned to the graveside and laid a single white rose entwined in a knot of Baby’s tears on the grave and said a silent good bye to a friend and a child that he would never now know. 

He thought that he had slipped away unseen but he was mistaken. Sarah had followed him and watched the scene as he stood there alone saying his farewells and watching him, her heart broke for him as he knelt down in the muddy earth, kissed his hand and gently placed it over the site of the baby’s coffin before standing up and walking silently away into the rain soaked cold gloom of the evening. Where he was going she didn’t know and as much as she wanted to run after him she couldn’t bring herself to intrude on his solitude.

The darkness of the surroundings engulfed him as he disappeared out of sight leaving her standing alone, her face wet but not from the rain, wet from the tears that she shed for his broken heart.


	79. Chapter 79

‘Did you get any sleep?’ Sarah asked looking up at Rolly as he came into the room, dressed in his business suit the next day. ‘You’re not going to work are you?’ she continued when she saw him, ‘why don’t you at least take today off and go back on Monday, god you deserve at least that!’ She was really worried about him now. She wanted to ask him about Skye but as he had not said one single word about her since the morning he had come back from the hospital, and even though she knew he had been so tied up with making arrangements and the funeral was yesterday, she didn’t understand why he hadn’t been back to the hospital or at least to her knowledge he hadn’t. He hadn’t even rung up to see how she was. She didn’t have a clue what was going on and couldn’t understand it at all and it was getting to her. 

‘I have things at work that I need to take care of and that need my attention,’ he answered. ‘Well can’t Nigel take care of them, surely under the circumstances?’ she asked perplexed. ‘No, I need to do a few things and I am the only one that can. Don’t worry so much about me Sarah, it’s all fine,’ he smiled unconvincingly. ‘But…’ ‘Sarah I appreciate it, I really do but it is all right.’ She shut up. There was no point. She knew that it would be like banging her head against a brick wall trying to reason with him. Once he had made up his mind to something she had never in her whole life known him to change it. Not once. She sighed. ‘Well at least let me make you a coffee and breakfast,’ she offered. ‘Coffee yes thanks, will give the breakfast a miss though. I’ll put the kettle on.’

He patted her on the head as he walked past her and his touch nearly reduced her to tears. She didn’t know why but she couldn’t shake off a feeling of dread that had come over her and his touch had almost felt like the soft hand of farewell. She told herself not to be fanciful, that she was just overwrought with grief for Ros and the baby and with the guilt that she still felt for what she saw as her contribution to what had happened. But still there was something that was giving her cause for her overwhelming uneasiness that no matter how logical she tried to be, it just didn’t work and she couldn’t shake it off. 

Roland was gone all day and didn’t return until late that night. She heard him come him and was going to get up and talk to him but as he passed her room and saw her light on he called out a good night, went to his room and firmly closed the door. She took the hint and didn’t want disturb him knowing that he must be tired. She knew she sure was tired and she was under nowhere near the pressure or emotional turmoil he must be going through but at the same time, she wanted so very badly to reach out to him. She tossed it up in her mind but before she could make a decision she dozed off, waking up at half past three in the morning just enough to roll over and turn off the light before falling asleep again after all her exertions of the long day.

After Roland had left for work that morning she had spent the day getting stuck into cleaning up the place and keeping herself busy, inventing non existent tasks that didn’t really need doing but anything that would distract her from her all the doubts and demons that were troubling her was better than nothing, so she went through the place from top to bottom. 

When she had finally finished dusting, mopping and vacuuming every room bar one in the house, she threw caution to the wind walked into Roland’s room. At the time that she had first moved in they had made an agreement that they would share the cleaning of the whole house but each other’s bedrooms were out of bounds and to be left the way each of them fancied as long as they were relatively clean and presentable. They had both stuck to that with the exception of the day that he had looked for some clothes for Skye to wear after the first night that she had stayed with him. But that was considered to be rather an emergency so that didn’t count. 

Up until then neither of them had broken the agreement but given the state he had been in lately she suddenly thought that she would give him a break and do a thorough clean-up for him, not moving anything of course, just a vac and dust and scrub out of his shower room would freshen everything up besides, she sniffed when she walked in, the room could really do with an airing so the first thing that she did was opened the windows and let the cold wind blow into the room cleaning out the stuffy stale dusty haze that seemed to cling to everything. She shook her head at how even with him not there the room still had a melancholic feeling cling to his crumpled up clothes on the chair and mussed up bed. It was so unlike him, if anything he was the clean freak of the family she reflected and reflected the state of his mind and circumstances and sighing to herself she rolled up her sleeves to get on with things. 

Next she started to vacuum the carpet working her way around the room until she was on the other side of his bed but when she lifted his bedspread to do under the bed her foot knocked against the corner of a sketch pad sticking out a little. She stooped down and pulled it out glancing at the page it was turned to. The image made her stop in her tracks and sit down on the bed to take a longer look. She always knew that one of Roland’s passion was drawing and sketching as a kid and she remembered that he was bloody brilliant at it too, so very talented, but she didn’t realise it was something that he had kept up as an adult and yet judging by this, he should have. 

The sketch was in pencil, an image of Skye’s head and shoulders, wind blowing her hair off her face flowing out behind her in the breeze. In the background was the sweeping line of the cliff down at the cottage and sunshine breaking through clouds shining on Skye’s face. The drawing was full of the movement of the sea and wind and of something else too, the beauty of her face as she gazed out to sea, bathed in a glow, shining with love and light. 

It was stunning and so full of love and admiration that it nearly broke her heart. Peering a little closer she noticed Roland’s faint writing in the very corner of the bottom of the page saying -  
My love, my life, my hope abandoned. 

She let out an audible sob at the words. There was no date written on it and she could only assume that he had done it on one of those long bleak nights of melancholy after they had split up, or so she hoped. She had recognised the scene immediately too, it was the part of the cliff by the path down to the beach where Sandy had drowned near the cottage. It was a spot that she knew drew him back whenever he wanted to think. She had often found him sitting there after one of the endless blow ups with Father. It seemed to be somewhere that he related to and that continually drew him back, a place of contemplation for him and a place of escape. 

She put the pad back under his bed and finished cleaning. She hadn’t meant to pry, that had not been her intention at all and in a way finding something so personal that was a reflection of how very much he was hurt and hurting, had compounded how very worried she had become for him but she didn’t know what to do. She didn’t want to make it any worse for him by bringing things up all over again and yet she was desperate to know that he was going to be all right and that Skye was going to be all right too. God when did life get so bloody complicated she was thinking to herself as she put everything away and went and made a brew, making up her mind to take the plunge and talk to him when he came home from work but as things worked out, that didn’t happen. 

When she got downstairs the next morning Roland was just finishing a cup of coffee. It was Saturday morning and he was dressed in his faded jeans and a pale blue shirt that she remembered being Skye’s favourite. She smiled to herself hoping that meant that he was going to see her but then sank again when he picked up his tatty old favourite cream coloured Aram jumper. It was old and not something that he would wear out around the city so she could only assume that it meant he was not going to visit her. 

He rinsed his cup and dried it and mentioned that the coffee maker was still on if she would like one. She walked into the kitchen area and he stepped in front of her. ‘I … I just want to thank you for everything. You are an incredible sister and a beautiful woman and I love you very much,’ and he gave her a hug. ‘Don’t ever change and don’t let anything ever change you, you know, stay as incredible as you are always.’ He kissed her cheek, let her go and picked up his car keys that had been lying on the kitchen bench and walked down the hall closing the front door quietly behind him and was gone. 

The house seemed like a big cold empty space without him and Sarah shivered. She didn’t know why but she was scared. She burst into tears. He had sounded so very final… he had sounded like he was truly saying one final goodbye.


	80. Chapter 80

Skye’s hands shook a little when she keyed in the numbers to Rolly’s mobile, her excitement at what she hoped would be their anticipated reunion getting the better of her. But all she got was a recorded message advising her that the number was either switched off or out of range. Dam it, I’ll have to try at home she muttered to herself. She glanced at the clock and thought that eight thirty on a Saturday morning wasn’t too early to call. He was normally up by that time, well awake at least. So she rang his home number instead.

‘Hello,’ Sarah’s slightly muffled voice answered. ‘Sarah is that you?’ It took a moment for Sarah to recognise Skye’s voice, it had been a while and also, she needed to compose herself. She had been crying when the phone rang and she had to try to get it together enough to speak. ‘Skye, is that you Skye? Oh thank god you’re all right. I have been so worried about you.’ ‘Sarah that’s so very sweet of you but I am okay, the doctor said there was no lasting damage done and apart from a massive lump on the head and a few stitches I am okay really. I was just wondering…’ she hesitated, now that it had finally come to it she was nervous but she ploughed on, ‘I was just wondering if I could speak to Rolly … Roland, if it’s not too much trouble? If he’s asleep then…’ 

Sarah cut her off mid-sentence. ‘Skye he’s not here and to be honest, I am really scared.’ ‘What do you mean? Where is he and why are you scared?’ ‘I don’t know where he is but he’s been so down, I mean really down and this morning…’ she burst into tears alarming Skye no end. ‘Sarah do you know where he went, have you any idea?’ ‘I don’t know Skye. He was dressed in his old tatty faded jeans that he loves so much and took that bloody old Aram jumper, you know the one,’ ‘Yeh I know the one, he loves that jumper, he wore it the whole time we were down at the cottage,’ she remarked visualizing a million different memories that came flooding through her. ‘He hugged me and said that I should never change and he sounded like… like he was saying goodbye Skye. I have never seen him this way. It’s ever since he’s come back from the hospital, and with everything that happened coming on top of you breaking up… I am so scared. He just picked up his car keys and left.’

Skye could hear the panic in Sarah’s voice but for some reason she wasn’t panicking at all. She felt calmness come over her, it was something that she had said a few moments ago, some kind of memory that she was trying to remember that was keeping her steady. What was it… she thought hard then it suddenly came to her. ‘How long ago did he leave?’ she asked keeping her voice under control. ‘It was only about five minutes before you rang why?’ ‘I think I might know where he has gone. Look I have to go but I promise as soon as I find him either I will get him to ring you or I will ring you back. And Sarah, don’t worry.’

She hung up and hoped that she had sounded more confident than she was really feeling but so far she was keeping a lid on her own panic. She wasn’t going to allow it to come bubbling to the surface and paralyse her because she knew if she did she would fall into a heap and that would be the end of … no she couldn’t let herself think of the consequences. Obviously Sarah was shaken to the core and frightened but she couldn’t let herself go down that track. She was determined that she was going to find him and make things right one way or another. 

She grabbed her handbag, made sure she had a spare fully charged battery for her phone, picked up her car keys and wrote a hastily scribbled note for her mum and dad, who were out shopping, before she ran out the door praying that there wouldn’t be too much traffic on the roads and she would have a clear run through town. Rolly couldn’t be that far ahead of her, she had only been on the phone for no more than ten minutes so he only had about a fifteen or twenty minute start at the most on her and with a bit of luck she should be there not long after him. 

She had a couple of hold ups with road works around Hampstead Heath before she got onto the A406 but when she was finally on the M4 it was smooth sailing besides, he would have been stuck in the same traffic jams and so she wasn’t overly worried, that was assuming that she was right in her deduction of where he was heading. She had to be right she told herself, she just had to. 

The miles seemed to fly but it still seemed like hours before she finally got off the main highway and started passing the smaller villages that dotted the landscape. There didn’t seem to be much traffic now but it didn’t surprise her. When she had left London the sun was shining but the further West she went the clouds had started piling up and getting darker and more rain sodden. She was driving into bad weather but she didn’t care, as long as she was right and Rolly was there when she got there, that was all she cared about. 

Finally, with one last sweeping bend in the narrow lane that she was now on she saw the stone wall and large gates she was looking for off to the right of the roadway. She was relieved to see that the gates were open. Surely that was a good sign that someone had been there recently and as she slowed down she also noticed fresh car tracks in the wet gravel, it having started raining only in the last half an hour. 

She drove slowly now looking through the gloom of the light drizzle that was filtering through the leafy trees to either side of the drive, keeping an eye out for the entrance to the track off to the left that led down to the cottage. His beloved cottage, the cottage he loved to escape to and found so much solace in being there, the cottage they shared such wonderful memories of when he first bought her down there and they had made love in the pool by the waterfall. The cottage that he had spent his childhood holidays in the sun that held so many sweet and bitter memories of his childhood. That was where she hoped he had headed to, she was pinning everything on it. 

Just like the first time she had been there the track leading off the drive way came upon her as a surprise and she had to stop and back up a bit before turning into it. As she did so she noticed lights off in the distance through the murky dreariness which meant that at least someone was down at the manor house, she hoped that she hadn’t been wrong and that it was a car from the big house that had used the drive, she prayed it was Rolly’s car, it had to be, it just had to be she told herself willing it to be true. 

Her heart began to beat a little faster now despite herself. What if he wasn’t there, what would she do then? What if she couldn’t find him? She tried not to think about it, she wanted to stay as calm as she could. She knew that getting upset was not good for the baby and she couldn’t face the possibility of not being able to find him. She just couldn’t. 

When she finally cleared the trees and came out into the open she got her first glimpse of the cottage in the distance. As hard as she tried to see if his car was there or there were any signs of life, she couldn’t. The drizzle had turned into a fine misty spray of rain, the kind that looks almost like fog until you stand in it for a few moments and before you know it you find yourself wet through. It cut the light and made visibility limited so she still had no idea of whether he was there or not. 

It was maddening. She wanted to speed up and floor it but knew that in these kinds of conditions it would be insane to do so and besides, it was not much further before she would get close enough to get a better view. If only it was the one that she was hoping for she kept thinking. Not that she knew what she was going to say to him if he was there. She hadn’t allowed herself to even think that far ahead. 

Gone were the conversations she had planned in her head last night when she had been so enthusiastic about introducing him to the baby. She had had it all pictured in her head. She would walk up to him and there would be no need for any words, they were superfluous under the circumstances, what was there to say? After all they loved each other and nothing else mattered, she hoped. 

She had pictured him taking her in his arms and holding her, undoing the buttons on her top to expose her belly then with the tenderest of kisses he would lean down and gently place his lips on her, and the baby would respond to him and move. The joy in his eyes would be palpable. He would tell her that it was all going to be all right and that he loved her. They would be married and have three children. The company would be their legacy to their family when it was their time to go and their children would grow up happy, healthy and sound. 

That was how she had dreamt it would be when they met again but the reality of things this morning had thrown that all out the window and now all she could think about was simply finding him safe and all right. Anything other than that didn’t even enter her head at that moment. 

Even if he didn’t want her any more, if things had been too much and they were to go their separate ways for good, it didn’t matter to her. What was important was finding him and telling him how sorry she was for everything and what a fool she had been to throw him away without giving him any kind of chance what so ever. That was all that mattered. 

Then suddenly she was there. She could see the cottage clearly now. The rain had suddenly stopped and over to her right there was a break in the clouds and the sunshine was pouring through a small break in the heavy clouds, casting beams of brilliant silvery shimmering across the stormy sea. In front of her was the garage and her heart gave a leap. One of the doors had swung to a little, blown open by the blustering wind after not closing properly and she saw the boot of his car peeping out. 

She had been right to trust her instincts, she knew it. He was here. But then as she watched the wind flap the door her eyes were drawn by something further along to the right, along the path running by the side of the cliff and to her horror she saw Rolly in the distance but he wasn’t alone. His father was there and she could see that they were arguing. 

Rolly was standing near the edge, too near the edge, backing away from his Father and edging closer and closer to the drop down to the ocean and the jagged rocks below.


	81. Chapter 81

Skye jumped out of her car and started running towards them as fast as she could. She heard raised voices recognising, Rolly’s immediately as it carried across the distance in between them, but neither of them had noticed her as they were too engrossed in their conversation. ‘It’s too late for that now, I don’t care,’ Rolly was shouting at his father over the sound of the wind and the waves, ‘I don’t care about anything any more, not without Skye.’ ‘Listen to me, please just listen to me…’ his father pleaded with him. She saw his father move towards him, Rolly backing away, perilously close to the unstable cliff’s edge. 

‘Get away,’ she screamed in her fright, ‘get away from Rolly.’ Her heart was in her mouth and she was terrified that if he went any closer towards him Rolly would fall or jump in the state she thought that he was in, his father finally and literally pushing him to the brink, her mind screamed at her in her terror. ‘Rolly… Rolly!’ she called out as loud as she could to get his attention. ‘Rolly please get away from the edge.’

Then he saw her. Looking past his father he saw her running towards him like some kind of vision and he took a step towards her and away from the cliff. 

On the long drive down to the cottage he went over things again in his mind. He thought that he had said goodbye to her forever. All his life he had been repeatedly reminded by his father what a disappointment he was, the list of his mistakes or misdemeanour's, real or imagined, recited to him like a litany of abject failures were a constant reminder of what a letdown he had been. The final straw for him had been losing the one thing in his life that had made him feel like a worthwhile human being instead of a waste of space, the only thing that had truly ever mattered to him and that was Skye. But losing her and then Ros and the baby had been just too much for him and he had finally had to face the fact that his father must be right about him. 

So he had made arrangements and gotten everything in order as far as his estate was concerned and he planned to come down to the cottage, to the view that always gave him the centring that he relied upon when, in times of great turmoil, he turned to hoping to find an answer to what his future would hold and what direction he would take next … if any. But not long after arriving, as he stood on the cliff gazing out to sea, in the midst of his contemplative reflections, his Father had turned up. 

‘How are you Roland? Are you all right? I am sorry for your loss son,’ he had commiserated. In all the time that Roland had known his father it was perhaps the first time in his life he had known him to show any kind of concern for his feelings or wellbeing and it took him totally by surprise. Rolly stared at him almost uncomprehending the change in his Dad’s whole demeanor. It was so very unlike him that it startled him. His Father, seeing the look of stunned disbelief and skepticism, ploughed on. 

‘Son, I haven’t been a good Father to you and for that I am sorry, I have been far too hard on you and that is my failing. It’s no excuse but I never had a lot of love in my own childhood so I didn’t really know how to behave but I can tell you this, from the very first moment that you came into this world I loved you. That might be hard for you to believe but because of my own experience I wanted nothing more than the best for you.’ Rolly didn’t say a word he merely looked at him blankly.

‘Look, you know that I loved my brother Reg but you didn’t know that he was always the favourite. We did everything exactly the same, went to the same schools, got the same grades, achieved and excelled and got kudos in the same sports … everything exactly the same,’ he shook his head, ‘and yet I was never recognised, never shown the same appreciation as he was, I was always in his shadow. Reg was always the life of the party, he was always the one that got the attention, went his own way, he wouldn’t listen to anyone. Does that ring a bell? Sandy was just like him. Reg blamed your Aunty for it but that was typical of him, wouldn’t take the blame for anything, it was always someone else’s fault… even Sandy’s.’ 

Rolly had gone pale at the mention of her name, he didn’t want to think about it and yet he was fascinated by what his father was saying. It was the most they had ever talked in their lives or his Father had, and certainly he had never been aware of any of this part of the family history. How could he when he had been shipped off to boarding school and by the time he was old enough to have an adult conversation he went off to university and then moved to London to stand on his own two feet and escape his Father as much as possible as soon as he could. 

‘I had never felt good enough in my father’s eyes, even though it was me that did all the right things, whatever Father wanted I was the one to rely on to pick up the pieces and fix things,’ his Dad was saying, ‘Reg would run riot and make decisions on the spur of the moment, business decisions that never seemed to work out and it would be me that had to carry the weight and sort it but instead of getting a pat on the back or … or just a loving word of thanks, it was good old Reggie that was held up as the bright and shining star.’ 

‘Do you remember that day when you were at your Gran’s and you went climbing up in the hills?’ Rolly eye’s narrowed; it was a day that he was hardly likely to forget. ‘Ahh I see that you do,’ his Father remarked shaking his head regretfully, ‘I was so proud of you for doing it but, it scared me too. I lost my head rather and had a sudden fear that you had inherited Reg’s reckless traits and I had to put a stop to it in the only way that I could and that was by being so hard on you. I can look back now and see that it was a turning point in our relationship. The fear in me lingered and when Sandy drowned I reacted irrationally, scared that because you were older then, the Reg traits were going to break out and you would rebel so I shipped you off and prayed that I had made the right decision.’ 

‘So, to my eternal shame, I have done exactly what I hated and had made me so very unhappy, I have done exactly the same thing to you in a way as my own father did to me, I pushed you away. I didn’t outwardly show you the love that I really felt. What I did, I did at the time for the right reasons but that doesn’t mean that it hasn’t left you deeply scared. The only difference between me and my own Father is that I hope that I haven’t left it too late to ask for your forgiveness, my own Father – your grandfather, died before realising his mistake. 

Skye had heard none of this conversation of course only the tail end so all that she knew was that her Rolly needed her and she needed him. ‘Rolly, I am here,’ she cried out to him and ran up to him, his words to his Father echoing in her brain. ‘I am here and I am so sorry. Will you ever forgive me for not listening to you, for not giving you a chance to explain? Rolly please…’ she implored him, her heart on her sleeve for Rolly and the entire world to see. Her words seemed to suddenly permeate through him and snap him out of the trance like state he’d been so engrossed in for what seemed like a life time and suddenly he felt like he was alive once more, no longer a dying or dead thing. 

‘Oh god Skye, my precious …,’ he sprang towards her and wrapped his arms around her holding her tightly to him, their lips searching for each other’s, tears flowing and mingling down their cheeks. ‘I love you Rolly, I love you.’ ‘I love you so much; I thought I had lost you. I thought I had lost you twice, when you walked away and then the other night in the hospital I thought… I called out to you but…’ ‘I heard you and I tried to find you but I couldn’t then when I woke up they told me that you had been there and just left and… don’t ever leave me again. Promise you will never leave me again,’ she insisted, her words tumbling out of her like a waterfall and breaking over him like the very waves pounding onto the rocks below them. 

‘Do you think that now that I have you back I am ever going to let you go? Can you ever forgive me for putting you through …’ ‘Shh, there’s nothing to forgive. Ros told me… she explained what it was like for you. Rolly I am so sorry, I am so terribly sorry about Ros and the baby. I can’t bear to think what it must have been like for you these past few weeks and this last week. You’ve been through so much and it’s been my fault. If it hadn’t been for me Rod would never…’ ‘It’s not your fault. You didn’t make him do what he did, he was a grown man and had choices, he made the wrong ones but you know standing here just now, before when I was on my own, I have been thinking and we all make our own mistakes that we have to live with. I guess it is up to each of us to forgive the unforgivable or be consumed by things that we can’t take back or change.’ 

He looked at her then over her shoulder to where his father was still standing gazing out to sea but then had turned and began to walk away. ‘Give me a moment but don’t you go anywhere, we have a lot of catching up to do and besides, haven’t you forgotten something?’ She looked at him puzzled. ‘Forgotten what?’ she asked quizzically. ‘There is someone that you need to formally introduce me to,’ and he eyes slid down her body to the little bump in her jeans. ‘Wait here,’ he said again and kissed her then strode over to his father. 

‘Dad?’ he called out, his blue eyes shining as he searched his father’s face hoping to see something that he had been missing all his life, ‘Dad wait, listen….’


	82. Chapter 82

At the sound of Rolly’s voice calling him his father stopped and turned around again to face him. ‘Dad I never knew or understood what it was like for you. You never told me how bad things were. I didn’t know, I’m sorry,’ he told him. He looked at the older man standing there with tears in his eyes. ‘Son it’s me that is so very sorry. I’ve wasted years of the life that we could have shared together. I’ve made yours and your mother’s and sister’s hell but…’ he paused, ‘if you are willing, I can try to make up for it now?’ He reached out his arms and embraced him and they hugged. ‘I promise you that it will be different from now on. I don’t want to lose you son.’ ‘I don’t want to lose you either Dad, I’ve never wanted to. All I have ever wanted was to make you happy but I’ve never felt that I have.’ ‘You have Roland, I have just never told you but I want you to know that now. When I saw you standing here…’ he was overcome with emotion now and couldn’t go on. 

‘How did you know that I was here, I mean what made you come …’ Rolly suddenly asked, giving his Father time to compose himself. ‘Sarah rang your mother. She was beside herself with worry. She said that you hadn’t been yourself and she had been talking to Skye but hadn’t heard from either of you for hours and as I’d seen your car coming down the drive from the bedroom window I legged it over here. You see we thought…’ ‘You all thought that I was going to do something stupid?’ Rolly asked incredulously, suddenly realising how it may have seemed to everyone given the circumstances. ‘Well to be honest, yes. I knew that you had seen your solicitor this week, they had rung me yesterday about some business matters and happened to mention that you had been in to see them and that, coming on top of everything that has happened this week, well I was concerned. I was more than concerned; to be honest I was frantic.’ 

Rolly shook his head in dismay at the assumption they had made and went on to explain. ‘I went to see the Solicitors to see if they could recommend anyone in LA that could handle my affairs. I came down here to say goodbye to the place really. I was going to chuck everything in and move to LA permanently. My old neighbor in Venice Beach has just set up a production company and he had offered me a job working for him and his partners if I ever got jack of the UK, so I had to make up my mind whether to take up his offer this week and then leave. You see, I thought that there wasn’t anything left to keep me here but now…,’ he paused and shrugged, ‘you see I thought that everyone would be better off without me being around.’ He turned and beckoned Skye over, wrapping his arm around her, ‘But now we have our whole lives ahead of us so we won’t be going anywhere.’ ‘I see,’ his father nodded to Skye as she walked over and joined them, the look of relief on his face palpable. 

‘Dad I want you to meet Skye, you haven’t met her properly yet, the last time we were here…’ ‘The last time you were here I behaved abominably to her I know. Skye, will you ever forgive me for the shameful way I spoke to you?’ ‘There’s nothing to forgive under the circumstances and besides,’ she looked at Rolly and he gave a nod, ‘if Rolly has forgiven you then everything is fine with me Mr Barker,’ she smiled. ‘Roger, call me Roger and thank you. I mean it. I can see why my son is so very much in love with you. You are a lucky man Roland to have someone so forgiving and understanding and I might add… wise.’ He took out his handkerchief and dabbed his eyes then blew his nose. ‘Now I think that I have taken up enough of your time, I am sure that the two of you have a lot to talk about,’ he added as he was about to make a tactful retreat, ‘so I will leave you two alone. Are you going to be staying on for the weekend?’ he asked as an afterthought. 

Rolly looked and Skye and she smiled. ‘Yes, if you don’t mind,’ he told his father. ‘Well then how about you come up to the house for dinner, that’s if it’s not going to interfere with any plans? I’ll ring Sarah, she’ll be so relieved and there’s enough time for her to come down and we can have a bit of family time. Would you like that?’ he asked eagerly, looking from one face to the other. Skye gave Rolly a little squeeze of encouragement. ‘Yes, we’d like that a lot,’ Rolly answered. ‘Right then, see you this evening about seven. Your mother will be so happy. It seems I have a lot of making up to do to her and Sarah as well as you son.’ And with that he walked off towards the trees. 

‘That was really cool of you to accept his offer babes,’ Skye turned and smiled at him. ‘That was pretty cool of him to offer really. I have never known him to be so…’ ‘So considerate?’ she questioned. ‘Yeh, it must be your influence. You know I think that he is quite smitten with you.’ She laughed, ‘Don’t be so silly, he doesn’t even know me.’ ‘I didn’t have to know you to be smitten with you babes.’ ‘No you didn’t and I didn’t know you at all before I was a goner. From the moment I saw you and you pulled that ridiculous eye spy game, something starting with B for button wasn’t it,’ she poked him, ‘I was hopelessly and ridiculously gone.’ 

He went a little red. ‘Why Rolly, I do think that you are blushing.’ ‘Well…’ he pulled her into his arms and against his body. ‘It has been a while and you… it’s your fault bringing up that game.’ ‘Come on, let’s get in to the cottage, we can talk about it then. It’s cold out here,’ she shivered a little, ‘and we could be sitting in front of the fire. Do you mind?’ He let her go reluctantly, mumbling about her being a spoil sport but wrapped his arm around her protectively and they walked back to the cottage. As he passed the garage he stopped and firmly closed the door and made sure everything was secure before going inside. 

Now that they were on their own and they were indoors there was an awkward shyness between them. ‘I’ll get the fire going and put on the kettle shall I, won’t be a moment,’ Rolly hurried over to the fire place, lit the scrunched up paper already set and began loading masses of kindling into the grate smothering any chances of it catching in his nervousness as she stood by watching him for the sheer pleasure of it, noticing how much thinner he was, his jeans slipping down his body and resting on his slim hips. 

‘Rolly is there anything to eat, I am starving?’ ‘You know so am I, I feel like I haven’t eaten in days,’ he chuckled a little as he continued to fuss over the smouldering heap in the large old fireplace. She frowned a little. ‘You look like you haven’t eaten in days,’ she paused, her face suddenly crumpling, ‘I am so sorry.’ He scrambled up from where he was kneeling and stood in front of her. ‘I am sorry I didn’t listen to you,’ words came rushing out of her, ‘I am so sorry about what happened,’ his words came pouring out over hers. ‘I love you Rolly,’ ‘I love you so much Skye,’ they both spoke at the same time then came to an abrupt halt as they stood staring at each other. 

‘I want …’ ‘What do you want,’ she interrupted looking up into his eyes. ‘Skye, I want you to promise me something,’ he urged. ‘You know that I will promise you anything.’ ‘Then stop beating yourself up, I am the one that was to blame for the whole mess.’ ‘No you aren’t. Rod was my psycho friend. If you hadn’t known me… if it hadn’t been for me then Ros would…’ ‘Skye no, don’t even say it. Look, neither of us can take the blame for someone as unhinged as Rod. My god, don’t you realize that it could have been you instead of Ros.’ 

‘What if she hadn’t been there the other day? Do you realize that he went there with the intention of getting you back? The detective told me that he admitted that he had decided that if he couldn’t have you then no one would. Skye even if Ros hadn’t been there, from what that detective told me you were in very serious danger from him, and that isn’t your fault, it was his sick and twisted mind. It might have been anyone standing there, it wouldn’t have mattered who it was to him, his whole purpose was to get you, and if you think that you are to blame then how do you think that I feel?’ 

‘But Rolly it isn’t your fault,’ she assured him. ‘Really, well if I hadn’t gotten her pregnant then we never would have had that meeting in the restaurant and he would never have taken those bloody photos. How disgusted with myself do you think that I feel that I … I …’ he couldn’t even go on. ‘Oh Rolly no. Ros explained what happened that night. I … I understand, really I do. I mean we weren’t even going out and how did either of us know that we would even see each other again. She said…’ ‘She said what?’ he asked. ‘She said that things weren’t like that between the two of you,’ Skye was embarrassed now talking about such an intimate subject that she felt was private for him but she knew they had to clear the air once and for all if they were to move forward and put this behind them forever. 

‘Rolly I am not all that experienced but I know that guys have needs and to be honest, I don’t know how you could stand being in a relationship where there wasn’t any physicality or love in it but I know why you were doing it, you were both doing it because of your parents. And… she told me that she had been having an affair and was planning to leave you and that the baby was an accident. I understand and I don’t blame you. I shouldn’t have jumped to all the wrong conclusions that day Rod sent the photos. I should have trusted you. I should have talked it out with you but I never dreamed that you could be with someone and not love or have sex with them because you are so loving and so… so physical with me.’

‘I just couldn’t contemplate it so I thought that we were just one big lie and I had been a total fool to believe… to believe that I was worth loving or wanting I guess. I never thought that anyone could love me the way that I loved you. You are my every dream come true Rolly and always will be.’


	83. Chapter 83

‘No babes no,’ Rolly was adamant. ‘You don’t understand. It’s because you do things to me that no one else ever could do. You have made me believe in me Skye. You make me feel like a million dollars, like I am walking on air just by looking at me. I’ve never had that in my life before and I never will again. I want to be totally honest with you. No more hidden secrets, no more covering up my feelings. Ros didn’t turn me on, she never did. I think that I was so focused on doing the best that I could for my Father that it was just never really a part of my life but when we met, when I first saw you, it was like an explosion of emotions. You were all I could think of and I am not just talking about the sex side of things either, even though meeting you was like taking Viagra twenty four hours a day, seven days a week.’

He rushed on knowing that they had to say things now, lay everything out there. ‘I won’t lie Skye, from the moment I saw you I wanted you but I never in a million years thought that I could get someone like you. You were like a door opening in my mind of a life with so many possibilities. Before all I thought about was work. I didn’t have anything else in my life. The night we met and you talked so passionately about work and ethics, it blew me away. Listening to you was like finding a soul mate that talked my language and looked like an angel. It was like finding the missing link to my life.’

‘When you walked away that first night it was all I could do to restrain myself from running after you and chaining you to me. I never thought that I would ever see you again. You were all that I could think about on so many levels. When I got home I wanted to ring you but didn’t have your number. I would have done anything just to talk to you again about anything, it didn’t matter what, just to hear you speak, to listen to you talking, to be near you… that was all that I wanted in life from that moment on. But there was also the frustration part of it all that sank in. I was trapped in a relationship that I … that both Ros and I had drifted into. I knew that she had been just as unhappy as I was and had been for years. I didn’t realise how unhappy until the next morning though.’

‘You know when she left me, even if I hadn’t met you the night before, do you know what I felt?’ he looked at her with his eyes blazing and she shook her head, ‘even though I felt like a failure as a man, all I felt was relief to be out of it. That is how pitiful our relationship had become. At that point in time it was such a boring mundane misery that despite what I thought was the incapability of me not satisfying her to such a degree that she turned to another woman, my life was such a despicably piteous mess that I honestly believed I was better off on my own.’

‘Oh Rolly no!’ ‘Then when I saw you again I couldn’t believe it. I wanted so desperately for you to like me but I wouldn’t even let myself believe that you could. Why would you, I tortured myself every night when I went home? How could a girl like you even look at me I kept asking myself, so I held back hoping that you would give me some kind of sign that you might be interested.’ ‘Interested,’ she exclaimed, ‘don’t you get it silly, I never in a million years dreamt that someone as beautiful on the inside and out would remotely even give me a second thought.’ ‘See that’s not how I see it,’ he assured her, ‘not one bit. You don’t see yourself like you really are. You are special Skye and not just to me but to everyone that knows you.’ 

‘You walk into a room and it lights up. You are kind and caring and smart and beautiful and everything that any man in his right mind would kill for.’ ‘But Rolly that’s how I see you. Don’t you see that? If I didn’t I wouldn’t have reacted the way that I did when I got that email. What woman wouldn’t fall at your feet just to get a smile from you? I have been pinching myself every single day since we met to make sure that I am not in some kind of dream. I look at you and you leave me breathless and shaking, my heart pounds when you say my name, when you look at me I just want to melt into your arms and never leave them.’ 

They looked at each other and the past month was swept away in that moment, forgotten. All that mattered was that moment, that look, the silence of the room and the distance between them until slowly he slipped his hands up to the back of his neck and fumbled with his shirt collar until his fingers deftly undid a leather strap tied hidden underneath his clothes then he dropped down on one knee, and still holding the leather strap scrunched up in one hand, he took her hand with his other free hand. 

‘Skye I asked you once to marry me, I am asking you again. Will you marry me? For better and for worse, I promise to forsake all others, to love you and cherish you until the day we are parted in death. That is the only thing that will ever separate us ever again if you say the word.’ He opened his other hand, the one he held the leather strap in and held it out. She looked down and smiled through her tears for threaded through the narrow leather band was her engagement ring. He had been it wearing close to him ever since he had opened the envelope she had left for him; his only constellation after she had gone was to wear it around his neck close to his heart. ‘I love you with everything I’ve got within me Skye. I can’t offer you more but I promise that I can offer you my heart and soul, it’s yours if you want it.’ 

‘Rolly will you have me? Will you love me with all my insecurities, my self-doubt and lack of esteem? Can I make you anywhere near as happy and complete as you make me? Can you spend the rest of your life with an idiot like me, because if you can then I am yours, my heart and soul, I am yours always?’ 

He took the ring from the palm of his hand and slipped it on to her finger. ‘In a heartbeat,’ he smiled as tears rolled down his cheeks, matching the tears that were streaming from her eyes. 

‘Just look at the two of us,’ she laughed, wiping her arm across her nose, ‘who else but us would be snivelling like two babies.’ ‘See we are a right pair and belong together.’ ‘You bet that we do, I am never going to let you out of my sight again. Were… were you really going to leave, to go to LA? I thought… I thought that, Rolly I was so scared. I couldn’t have born it if anything had happened to you. We couldn’t,’ she corrected herself as she looked down at the small bulge and took his hand and placed it on her belly. ‘I want you to meet your baby Rolly, our baby, yours and mine, our child and our future.’

‘I couldn’t and wouldn’t have done that you or to our child. I am so sorry that I put you through that but it never entered my head that anyone could think that but then, I was half out of my head and have been since we haven’t been together. I simply can’t function without you. I promise you babes, we’ll never be apart again,’ he said taking her in his arms and holding her to him. ‘I never want to be parted ever again,’ he whispered softly as he held her head against his chest then bent his head and kissed her silken hair, running kisses gently down her cheek until she looked up at him and was lost in his mesmerizing blue eyes smouldering down at her, the look igniting a burning desire through her.

‘You will never have to be. Yes I will marry you, and yes I want you beyond belief, and this child too and as many children as you want. I am yours Rolly now and always.’ ‘I love you Skye.’ ‘I love you too Rolly.’ He bent his head down again and brushed his warm lips across hers, just the merest touch of his flesh skimming her lips with a tenderness that nearly broke her heart. She reached up and running her hand behind his neck to feel the soft V shape of hair that always thrilled her, she pulled him into her, their lips now searching hungrily for each other in a passion that was unmistakable. 

She parted his lips with her tongue, the very act so unexpectedly aggressive it burned through him as she clamped her mouth over his and teased him, wrapping her body around his, undulating against him with such desire that he was on fire. Abruptly he pulled back and broke away from her panting trying to get his breath back. 

‘Skye you are having my baby, do you have any idea how that makes me feel, how happy I am and how totally sexy you look?’ he gasped. ‘You always have turned me on but now, you … you are glowing. I,’ he hesitated embarrassed, ‘I mean is it…,’ he stumbled over his words unable to sound coherent enough for her to understand him clearly. She didn’t know what he was trying to say, ‘Rolly just say whatever it is that you are trying to, it’s okay really.’ 

He looked down at her belly and placed his hand on her gently as though she might break. His hand trembled a little as he held her and stared down at the tiny little bump. ‘I desperately want you,’ he finally blurted out, ‘but I don’t want to hurt you or the baby. I mean can we… well you know, is it all right to … I am just so,’ he couldn’t articulate what he was feeling he was so tongue tied. ‘The thought that I did this, that I got you pregnant and we are having a baby, it well, it just turns me on so much.’ He looked away half ashamed and embarrassed. 

‘Rolly I want you too and I feel exactly the same way, and yes, I checked at the hospital and it’s okay,’ she blushed, ‘they said as long as it feels okay then well,’ she giggled almost nervously, ‘they said we could go for it like rabbits and the way I am feeling right now, that suits me fine.’ He drew his breath in and rolled his eyes. ‘Are you sure? You aren’t just saying that are you?’ She drew his hand down, unzipped her jeans and guided his fingers until he felt the moist lace of her panties. He groaned and so did she. Without even taking his own jeans off, he was her lying on her back on the pile of cushions in front of the fireplace, his zip undone and he was very carefully gliding into her, lips locked to each other’s in their desperate need. 

‘Oh Rolly,’ she breathed into his mouth. ‘God Skye I have missed you.’

Skye left Godfrey’s employ and went back to work with Rolly but not before she made sure she had found someone that she thought would be a suitable replacement in more ways than one. She knew the moment that she introduced Anna to Godfrey that she had made the right choice as they had hit it off immediately. She was just his type and she felt that he would be good for her too, and not just career wise either. 

Several months later, the week before the wedding of Skye Elinor Mitchell to Roland James Barker, as they sat at home one night going through some presents that had arrived during the day, Skye looked up at the sound of Rolly’s laughter. ‘What?’ she asked him, ‘what’s so funny?’ He was sitting next to her surrounded by the remnants of packaging with a gift next to him and a card in his hand. ‘Here read this then check out what this is,’ he said pointing to the present, ‘it’s from my mate in LA.’

“May this be an inspiration to you and the love of your life on your wedding night and for many years to come” the flowing script said. 

Her eyes widened when she saw the signature but they widened even more when he handed her a DVD that was a pornographic parody of her favourite show. ‘What a pisser,’ Rolly laughed then pulled a straight face. ‘What, what is it?’ she asked noticing his expression. ‘Well, I was thinking… how about we go upstairs and put this on and have a bit of a wedding night rehearsal?’ ‘Hmm…well you know what they say don’t you?’ she asked him. ‘No what do they say?’

‘Practice makes perfect!’ and they both laughed as they ran up the stairs. 

The Beginning


	84. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we have come to the end of this journey and as usual it is hard to let go of characters that have become friends and so much more.   
> Saying good bye to our two lovers is not an easy task and one that I have put off now for a long time but all things must come to an end and so here I will finally part with our two lovers and let them go off into the future and to a life together that will bring them all the happiness that they deserve.   
> To those of you who have stuck by this story since its first inception so long ago I would like to add my sincere thanks for bothering to read and for all the insightful comments.  
> Without you all life would be a lot duller.  
> Many thanks to you all for reading my scribblings and may you all find the happiness in your lives that Rolly and Skye have.   
> Braz xx

There is no denying that life is stranger than fiction. If we are lucky in life we may be one of those very fortunate ones that when love strikes like lightning, so powerful and intense it can’t be denied nor can anything ever diminish the overwhelming feeling that comes with it, then no matter what obstacles are thrown in the path of true love, nothing will ever separate the willing or unwilling participants. Such was the case with Rolly and Skye. 

Their love for each other was tested and proven to be true and sound regardless of the trials, self-made or not, that threatened to tear them apart. From the moment that they met their destiny was sealed and nothing was going to change that. Call it fate or destiny or any other name you can throw into the mix, love at first sight is a very real and tangible feeling to be trusted, as both of our lovers can attest – the heart wants what the heart wants and never has that been truer than with Rolly and Skye, now and always and beyond or until their story ends and a new one begins…. 

Rod Dale Floyd was found competent to stand trial for his part in the demise of Ros and Rolanda and sentenced on both counts for manslaughter, receiving twenty years in prison, to be served concurrently. On the first anniversary of Skye and Rolly’s marriage he was found dead, hanging in his cell with a note in his pocket that read: “I love you Skye, you are mine.” After a coroner’s inquest was held and the findings of death by suicide released, a small funeral was held which Skye and Rolly, along with Paul and his friends attended, giving closure and putting to rest a sad chapter in all their lives. 

It took two years of intense therapy for Sylvia De Palma to come to terms with the guilt she was feeling for her involvement with Rod. It had changed her life and given her a new perspective. She wanted to help others now in an attempt to make amends for her actions. She went to university, gained a degree and went on to become a well renowned psychologist specializing in criminal behaviour amongst the working class. 

When Godfrey attended Skye and Rolly’s wedding he was introduced to one of Skye’s bridesmaids, Sarah - Rolly’s sister, and was totally taken with her. Sarah on the other hand in her typical outspoken way, was not taken in by his charms or at least would not admit that she was to anyone. Thus began a long and protracted chase to win her affections which finally succeeded three years later and ended in a magnificent wedding which cemented Rolly and Godfrey’s two families together in a match that in business circles was the talk of the town. 

Anna, Skye’s friend who she had recommended to Godfrey to replace her as his assistant when she went back to work with Rolly, in the hopes of some kind of relationship for the two of them, had instead fallen hard for Godfrey’s chief of security and had married, had children and went on to become an integral part of Godfrey’s vast enterprises. 

Roger Fenwick Barker became the kind of grandfather to Skye and Rolly’s children that was a dream come true. The children adored him for his patience with them, forever playing with them, taking them on outings and answering endless questions but when it came to giving his approval for anything of a serious consequence he would always reply with the same answer: ‘Go ask your father, Daddy knows best,’ thus enhancing the relationship he had reclaimed with Rolly. He became a much loved father and grandfather in every sense of the word. 

James Stephen William Barker was born two weeks premature in the car, pulled over on the side of the road near the cottage, after he decided he couldn’t wait to come into the world a moment longer. Skye had an easy birth but the same can’t be said for Rolly. He was so much of a wreck, having delivered his first born living child under trying circumstances that he threw up with nerves, much to Skye’s amusement. When the ambulance finally arrived they were more concerned with Rolly’s condition than Skye’s as he was still feeling faint and had to be assisted into the ambulance by them. 

Rolanda – named in honour of the sister she would never know - Elinora Barker had a more conventional but just as swift birth and although Rolly was racked with nerves, he managed to get through it this time without mishap, getting Skye to the hospital with an hour to spare. Skye and Rolly asked Lynda to be godmother to Rolanda and for the rest of her life she was a close part of their family life too. 

With the arrival of the twins it was a different matter entirely. Skye had felt fine throughout the pregnancy but because of the size of the twins the doctors had advised her to have a caesarean and it was her turn to be a nervous wreck where as Rolly was calm, cool and collected. When her water broke and she went into labour he kept his head and even when the contractions got closer and closer together in the car on the way to the hospital, he kept his nerve for her sake. In the end she gave birth naturally and Billy Milus Barker and his sister Blossom Mandy Barker were born with little more effort than their older brother and sister. 

Skye and Rolly’s wedding had been a modest affair with only family and close friends. Rolly had been right when he had said that Skye was glowing in her pregnancy and never was that more true than the day they were married. She was a vision of loveliness that broke his heart with happiness as they said their vows to each other, promising to love and cherish, be honest and respect each other until the end of their time together. 

There was no doubt to anyone that was lucky enough to be there that there were never two other people more in love with each other than they were. When the celebrant pronounced them man and wife there was not a dry eye present, including the bride and groom. 

They had chosen to have the ceremony on the beach at the cove near the cottage and it was perfect. The day was warm but not hot, the waves calm and lapping gently on the shore and the caterers had laid on a feast on long tables by way of an informal buffet. Everyone that was there said for many years to come that it was the best wedding they had ever been to and when at dusk they were led up the to the waterfall and pool where the whole area had been decked out in fairy lights and turned into a dance area and the bride and groom had their first dance together as man and wife to the song that Rolly had written and recorded for Skye, the magic of the moment engulfed everyone there and lingered on long after the wedding became a happy memory. 

When Skye and Rolly had gone on their extended honeymoon they wanted to fit in as much travelling in as they could before Skye was unable to get around so they first visited Australia. Skye had shown him around all the places that she had fallen in love with, so much so that he too had fallen in love with the beauty of the country and friendly nature of the inhabitants and on the spur of the moment they bought a holiday house with plans to spend some of their future holidays embracing the laid back lifestyle and relaxed friendly nature of the place. 

Rolly, like Skye before him, was particularly blown away by their time in Melbourne and with the state of Victoria in general. ‘There’s a little bit of everything here isn’t there,’ he had said to her one night as they sat eating in a little restaurant overlooking the bay with the back drop of the whole of the city of Melbourne lit up in front of them like some fairy land. ‘The Victorian era architecture with its ornate lace ironwork and old world charm is wonderfully atmospheric and yet the city is modern and vibrant and alive,’ he enthused, ‘and the country side and beaches are spectacular. I can totally understand why you fell so in love with it.’ 

To complete their honeymoon they jetted on to Los Angeles. Rolly wanted to show her around and show her off to his friends and acquaintances there and show her all of his favourite haunts from his time living there. They did all the touristy things that everyone does when one visits the home of Hollywood, doing studio tours, Rodeo Drive, Malibu, Venice beach of course and they had pictures taken outside Grauman’s Chinese Theatre. They drove up Mulholland Drive and into the hills, did a star map tour and drove up the coast to Monterey and environs in the BMW convertible that Rolly still had garaged there.

They had a total ball, were deliriously happy and so very much in love.

Before going home to England Skye finally got to meet his much loved friend and neighbor and once she had managed to get over fangirling and find her voice, she thanked him for his very ‘thoughtful’ wedding present which she told him impishly they had found very instructional. He laughed in his melodical way which she recognized immediately, her heart skipping a beat at the sound of it and in turn he wished them much happiness again for their future.

He apologized for not being able to make it to their wedding, explaining that he had been filming the final of the series he was involved in at the time and assuring them that had he could have, he would have much preferred to have been with them sharing their day.

After talking for hours and catching up with all their plans, although it meant that Rolly wouldn’t be taking him up on his proposal as far as working together specifically in relation to his production company in the role they had previously discussed, he took the opportunity of broaching a new venture he had just come across, explaining that he had bought the rights to a story and was looking to set up something in the United Kingdom as he was going to shortly be spending a lot of time there filming a new and exciting series. 

He explained that he was looking for someone to co-produce the making of a movie project based on the story he’d purchased as he would be tied up directing and starring in it himself so he needed someone that he could not only trust but rely on too and who had the vision to see the project through without becoming intrusive to the original theme of what he was trying to achieve. 

He bubbled with contagious enthusiasm and insisted that they both read the script outline he had already written, not taking no for an answer. He even invited them to stay in the guest room for as long as they liked and they spent several happy days at his place after succumbing to his charm and persuasion, making plans for a future that while totally unexpected, was tremendously exciting.

He had told Rolly and Skye that it was a cracking story and he couldn’t wait for everyone to see it and his vision for it - explaining how he would shoot it, who he would like to play various roles, various locations that he was thinking of scouting for different scenes and much more. 

Rolly and Skye were totally thrilled by the whole project and right behind it one hundred percent, embracing the excitement they were all feeling and they too couldn’t wait to tell others what the story was all about but the story and all it entails well …. that’s another story!


End file.
